Shimla hospital ward turns battleground: Doctor beats patient lying on bed during argument, leaves nose bloodied; kin protest after video goes viral

SHIMLA: A senior resident doctor of the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), Shimla, was suspended after he assaulted a patient lying on a bed on Monday, triggering a protest by attendants and relatives after a video of the incident went viral.

Police registered an FIR against the doctor.

The video, shot by an attendant, purportedly shows 31-year-old Dr Raghav Narula, a senior resident with the pulmonary medicine department of the IGMC, repeatedly and aggressively punching 36-year-old Arjun Panwar, even as another doctor tries to hold him by the legs. The patient can also be seen defending himself and trying to hit the doctor with his legs while lying on the bed. The assault left Panwar with a bloodied nose.


As the video went viral, relatives and friends of Panwar, who hails from Mashaud village of Kupvi subdivision of Shimla district, reached the IGMC and staged a protest demanding the arrest of the accused doctor. A three-member inquiry committee was formed by the IGMC administration to probe the incident, following directions from chief minister Sukhvinder Sukhu.

"After we submitted the committee findings, the state govt ordered to suspend the accused doctor till further notice. A high-powered committee will soon be formed to further investigate the matter," said IGMC medical superintendent Dr Rahul Rao.

Panwar had come to the hospital on Monday morning for a bronchoscopy test after complaining of shortness of breath. "After the test, I lay down on an empty bed in the pulmonary ward as the doctors advised me to rest for a while. As I was resting, Dr Raghav came and started questioning me about what I was doing there and where my medical test reports were. He spoke to me very rudely, and when I told him, ‘Is this the way you talk to your family members?' the doctor got enraged and started beating me," said Panwar.

According to Himachal health minister Dhani Ram Shandil, exemplary action would be taken against the doctor based on the findings of the committee. "Dr Raghav is a contractual employee and has been with the IGMC since Aug," said Shandil.

"Directions will also be issued so that such incidents are not repeated in the future," said Shandil. When asked about the second doctor, Shandil said, "An inquiry is being conducted to find out the involvement of the medical staff present in that ward at the time of the incident."

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