Doctors from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) protested outside their office in Hyderabad’s Koti region after two attacks on doctors at Nizamabad Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in the past few weeks.

Dr Anvesh was the medical officer on call on Monday morning when a patient who had suffered a head injury in a road traffic accident was brought into the emergency ward at NIMS. After initial assessments, the patient was taken up for an ultrasound scan after which doctors deemed it necessary for him to undergo a CT scan. The patient was taken downstairs to the radiology department and was waiting to be taken in for the scan, when the men who accompanied the patient began verbally abusing and manhandling Dr Anvesh, allegedly for being made to wait. The doctor spoke to the media on Monday and had mentioned that the patient and his acquaintances were drunk and that the accident was a case of drunk driving.

A case was later filed with the Panjagutta police station by a duty resident doctor at NIMS. Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The incident occurred hardly 15 days after a hostile mob entered the NIMS hostel in search of a doctor who had allegedly treated their relative.

Following this, doctors at NIMS had approached Telangana Health Minister Etela Rajender seeking security measures to be increased and to ensure the protection of doctors. Several doctors protested on Monday on the NIMS premises, calling for immediate action to be taken.

Doctors from NIMS who met with the health minister had also submitted a memorandum seeking to increase the security measures around the hospital, with particular focus on certain areas identified as specifically vulnerable.

The Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA) had also condemned attack against the medical officer at NIMS and also taken part in protests held on Monday.