Sending a stern message to those misbehaving with health workers already under tremendous stress due to Covid, Dhanbad Senior Superintendent of Police, Akhilesh B Verior on Tuesday suspended three police officials, including a woman sub inspector (SI), in connection with a clash day before at Patliputra Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) during which the officials entrusted with law enforcement beat up a lab technician and even manhandled a doctor.

Police authorities have also initiated departmental proceedings against the three suspended police officials namely SI Shweta Kumari, assistant sub inspector Satish Kumar and constable Mahesh Bhagat.

Dhanbad, one of the worst-affected districts of the state, is reeling under tremendous pressure on public infrastructure, which has affected both the over-worked police force and stressed out health workers who have been leading the fight. Seven policemen of Barawaddah Police station reached PMCH on Monday for Covid testing and after thermal scanning during the morning, four of them were called for swab collection in the evening. When they reached PMCH in the evening, there was some hold-up as the lab technician on duty had to leave for swab collection of a deceased havildar as per direction of a senior police officer to initiate the death ritual.

“Irked over the delay, the policemen started hurling abuses at the lab technicians,” said a paramedical staff of PMCH, adding that lab technician Sushant Chatterjee was beaten up. When doctor LB Tuddu tried to intervene, the policemen also manhandled him.

The doctors and paramedical staff boycotted work and started demonstration on Monday night after which they also complained about the incident to Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Uma Shankar Singh. He sent a team led by DSP (law and order) Mukesh Kumar to visit the hospital, note down the details of the incident and conduct a probe using CCTV Camera footage. It was only after this move, that the strike was withdrawn.

Talking to The Telegraph Online, Verior, said, “We have conducted a detailed enquiry into the case under the supervision of DSP (Law and Order) Mukesh Kumar, who visited the site and based on the findings we suspended the police officials.”

Justifying the action of suspension, Verior said, “We wanted to send a clear cut message that at this point in time, doctors and medical staff are under tremendous pressure and they are doing their best possible. So everyone, including the people in general and policemen, should try and support them. Although the policemen are under pressure but these people (doctors and medical staff) are under more pressure.”