A Naga doctor harassed in West Bengal; house owner stands up for him

Our Reporter
Dimapur, May 14 (EMN): From working in shifts and overtime to scraping weekly offs to social stigmatisation, frontline workers have faced it all but they have been ploughing along diligently to serve and protect the people from the deadly Covid-19 for months now though they are not immune to the virus.

During the course of this fight, many frontline workers like doctors and nurses have been harassed and stigmatised. Angukato Z Achumi, a doctor from Dimapur, who currently works in Midnapore, West Bengal, also faced harassment. However, his house owner had come to his rescue, taking an exemplary stance against such discrimination.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, house owner Biswajit Dey who is a chemistry teacher by profession, said that he had known his tenant (Achumi) for over a year since he came to Midnapore in West Bengal.

On seeing his tenant upset and making plans to go back to his home state Nagaland, Dey intervened and asked about his problem. He was told that the doctor was upset over a series of discrimination and harassment he had to face while on the road.

‘Upon hearing that, I got so angry. How can anyone harass or discriminate the people who are actually at the battle front, fighting one of the biggest battles of their lives?’ the teacher said.

He immediately informed the Kotwali police station about the situation — harassment faced by the doctor — and the police assured the doctor that harassment would not happen again.

“He’s like my brother. In fact, a younger brother to me, and in this current situation, we have to uphold, support and protect them (frontline workers),” the teacher said, while pointing out that they are the ones doing a noble job.

Achumi, who is a second-year post graduate surgery student at Midnapore Medical College, stays with his mother and a younger brother.

The doctor told Eastern Mirror over the phone that he was walking back home for dinner after his 24 hours shift from the hospital on Monday night when three youths on a bike came straight to him and hurled some racial slurs at him. He added that they also called him “chin-chin” and “momo”, and even accused him of bringing the Covid-19 to the locality.

“I did not feel good about it and got so disappointed but I kept it to myself as I didn’t want my mother to know any of these things,” the doctor said.

However, he said that his landlord stood up for him when he thought of giving up, to the point of going back to Nagaland, after having faced discrimination and harassment multiple times. He added that his landlord was very supportive of him and his work and expressed his gratitude.

“He calls me every day and asks about me and my family’s health. He even offered to waive off the rent if I’m in any sort of financial difficulties,” said the doctor.

After learning about his harassment, Achumi said his landlord directly went to the local police station, after which the police assured his safety. He also said that his landlord created awareness among the neighbours against discrimination and that he is a doctor from Nagaland state, a state that has so far not recorded a single Covid-19 case.

‘All these support from my landlord has made me even more resolute to go ahead with my work and duty,’ said the doctor.