Jorhat: A 73-year-old doctor who was attacked by workers of a tea estate here on Saturday, August 31, succumbed of injuries at a government hospital.
Tea estate workers had attacked Dr Deven Dutta – a senior resident doctor, for allegedly being absent from duty and blamed him for the death of a temp worker.
Sukra Majhi – the 33-year-old worker, was taken to the hospital in a critical condition around noon on August 31. Dr Dutta at that time was not present in the hospital. The pharmacist was also on leave that day. The nurse on duty administered saline but the worker died.
When Dr Dutta arrived later in the day, workers attacked and locked him in a room in the hospital.
Dutta who had retired long back was serving under extension at the tea estate, he was rescued by the police.
According to an NDTV report, as many as 250 people were involved in the attack of which 21 have been arrested by the police.
The West Bengal Doctors Forum (WBDF) strongly condemned the attack and said, “Dr Dutta was a 75-year-old physician who had involved himself in the service of his community even after retirement! The people he served thanked him by murdering him in front of police.”
Doctors in the state on Sunday, September 1, called for a 24-hour ‘withdrawal of medical services excluding emergency’ across Assam on September 3, in protest against the incident.
