A Central Coalfields worker who was allegedly assaulted and threatened last week by a doctor at the PSU-run hospital in Gandhinagar for refusing surgery in the last minute is planning to lodge a police complaint.

Shankar Narayan Jana, 55, a resident of Khelari, had been under treatment of Dr Nirmal Kumar, an orthopaedic surgeon at CCL’s Central Hospital, since February. The doctor advised a surgery to fix a problem on his right leg and, accordingly, Jana got himself admitted on September 12.

“The OT was scheduled last Friday (September 14). As I was about to be wheeled in, I received a call from home saying my wife, who has spinal cord problems, had suddenly got very sick. I requested Dr Kumar to postpone my surgery,” the CCL worker said.

The request apparently infuriated the surgeon to such an extent that he began hitting Jana.

“He (Dr Kumar) shouted that I wasted his time and slapped me twice. Then, he pulled me up by my collar and punched me twice in the face. I was on drip and my hands were engaged; I could not protect myself,” Jana said and added that the surgeon even threatened him and the ward boys not to speak to anyone about what just happened. “The doctor said if I did, he would come to my house and beat me up.”

After Dr Kumar allegedly stormed out of the operating theatre, Jana convinced nurses to stop his drip and reported the matter to a senior doctor whose name he could not recall.

“The senior doctor allowed me to go home and promised action against the surgeon. Even after I came home, I was tensed. Who would have expected a doctor to behave in such a manner? A colleague of mine has advised me to take legal action. Since my wife is stable now, I have decided to file an FIR tomorrow (Thursday),” Jana said.

Dr Kumar’s phone remained switched off all through Wednesday. Chief medical officer of Central Hospital Manjushree Singh was also unreachable. Director (personnel) of Central Coalfields R.S. Mahapatro refused to comment, saying he was out of station.

A paramedic at the hospital, however, confirmed the incident but insisted it was “a sudden outburst” of anger. “The doctor (Kumar) lost his cool because he never expected a patient to cancel OT in the last minute. Otherwise, he is a very efficient surgeon and a polite person,” he said, requested anonymity.