Doctor assaults, drags elderly patient in Indian hospital; video goes viral

A video has emerged, showing a doctor and staff at Chhatarpur District Hospital, Madhya Pradesh, India, assaulting and dragging an over-70-year-old man.

This incident, purportedly recorded on April 17, quickly went viral across various media platforms on Sunday.

The video appears to depict the doctor hitting the elderly man, then he and the staff dragging him and allegedly threatening to confine him in the hospital’s police post.

Speaking to IANS, a senior police official confirmed that an investigation was underway. The doctor will be "questioned, and a formal police complaint (FIR) will be filed.”

"Preliminary findings and the viral footage indicate that the patient, identified as Uddhavlal (approximately 70 years old), suffered the assault. Additionally, the doctor has filed his complaint with the local police,” the official said.

While the patient (Uddhavlal) told the media that he was seeking treatment for a stomach nerve issue, the doctor slapped him near his ear, manhandled him, and forcibly dragged him to the hospital’s police post in full view of bystanders.

He claimed this occurred after an argument with the doctor.

Further, the patient explained that while he was standing in the queue for treatment, the doctor confronted him due to the crowd, questioned his presence in the queue, and subsequently assaulted him.

The incident has drawn significant attention, raising questions about patient rights and hospital protocol.

Adding political weight to the case, Jitu Patwari, Congress State (Madhya Pradesh) Unit President, shared the video on social media.

In his post, he alleged that the patient was not only beaten and dragged but also thrown out of the hospital by doctors and staff.

Patwari stated that the elderly man’s only fault was requesting expedited medical care for his wife, who is reportedly suffering from a stomach vein condition.

"A 75-year-old man was not only kicked and punched by the doctors and hospital staff of Chhatarpur District Hospital, but was also brutally dragged and thrown out of the hospital! The only fault of the old man who came for his wife's treatment was that he was unable to stand in the long queue for long, so he was pleading for his wife's treatment to be done quickly!”

He addressed his post to the state chief minister and wrote, "The government that cannot respect the elderly should be ashamed! The government that cannot provide health security should be out of power!”

Indo-Asian News Service