IRB personnel assault a doctor in Nagaland; laboratories shut down temporarily

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Aug. 22 (EMN): A pathologist in-charge of the Chümoukedima TrueNat testing laboratory was allegedly assaulted by the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel on the night of August 21 near Faith Hospital in Dimapur.

The doctor’s brother, who is also a medical officer with the department of Health and Family Welfare, informed Eastern Mirror that the former had gone to pick up a fresh set of clothes from home and was returning to his quarantine facility at Hotel Saramati when the incident happened.

‘He comes home once a week to get a change of clothes, and on his way, a car was parked near our home which obstructed him from passing through,’ he said.

There were four men ‘drinking inside the car while the driver was standing outside’ when an altercation occurred, it was informed.

“The five men were drunk and started being (getting) aggressive with him (the doctor); in defence, my brother picked up a piece of wood but did not hit anyone,” informed the medical official.

According to him, his brother saw some IRB personnel patrolling the area at that time and approached them for help ‘but was instead beaten up’.

It was informed that some of the IRB personnel questioned the men inside the parked car while another personnel asked the doctor ‘if he had the license to pick up the piece of wood’.

“I reached the spot at around 10.30 pm and saw four IRB (personnel) manhandling my brother; I tried to intervene and asked them multiple times to take us to the police station for our statements but they denied,” the medical officer said, adding that he was also slapped.

During the course of the altercation, one IRB personnel picked up the wood and swung it at the brothers but it ended up hitting the bonnet of the doctor’s car, it was informed.

“If he had hit us with the wood on our heads, we wouldn’t be alive,” he said, adding that it was then, the IRB personnel started beating his brother.

Multiple requests to be taken to the police station were refused, he added.

It was informed that around 15 employees and staff of Faith Hospital were alerted and arrived at the location.

‘The company commander of the IRB also arrived and again refused to take us to the police station and asked us to go home instead,’ he said.

“In the beginning, my brother was relieved to see the IRB personnel but instead of trying to solve the problem, they beat him up,” said the medical official.

It was informed that the ACP of West Police Station had also arrived at the scene.

“The IRB personnel are telling the higher ups that my brother was the aggressor against the five people who were parked and drinking while also assaulting four IRB personnel; how can one person go against nine people even if that was true?” said the doctor.

He informed that the victim will be filing an FIR and ‘is ready to take a polygraph test along with all the personnel to prove his innocence’.

A reliable source further informed that all laboratory facilities, including functioning of Covid hospitals have been shut down temporarily in Dimapur.

The source also informed that after a meeting with Indian Medical Association, Nagaland In-service Doctors’ Association and many other medical organisations, the decision to shut down the entire healthcare centres in the State might take place as a sign of protest. When contacted, a senior police officer said that there are different versions of the incident and it was too early to comment due to the sensitivity of the situation.