Authorities state step was necessary to prevent manhandling of accused after arrest
Friday, 24 MAY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
After a video of a police jeep entering the emergency ward of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh went viral on social media on Thursday, the Dehradun senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh reached the hospital to personally investigate the matter. The 26-second-long clip showed a police jeep entering the emergency ward and security officials clearing the way for it by pushing stretchers with patients out of the way. This raised many questions about the exact intention of the police in entering the building by jeep and driving it to the fourth floor. The police were reportedly there to detain a nursing officer on Tuesday after a junior resident doctor accused him of molesting her when they were on duty in the surgery unit on Sunday. After the video went viral, the SSP reached AIIMS on Thursday, checked CCTV camera footage and interacted with senior officials, the hospital’s security staff and others regarding the matter. After conducting a thorough inquiry, Singh said that the police had to use the jeep for the accused’s safety as hundreds of people had gathered around the ward where he was admitted, possibly due to psychological issues. Bringing him outside the ward could lead to violence and disturb law and order in the hospital. He said, “The accused was admitted to the psychiatric ward of the hospital and about 250 to 300 people had gathered outside the ward. The hospital informed the police about a possible law and order situation. After two hours of discussion to calm the crowd, a police jeep entered the premises to take out the accused and prevent the possibility of mob lynching. A joint inspection was held with the officiating director of AIIMS Dr Meenu Singh on Thursday. We analysed CCTV camera footage and other evidence. It was concluded that whatever action was taken at the time was appropriate.” The AIIMS director also said that using the jeep to bring the accused safely out of the hospital was an emergency measure and no one was hurt. She said that an incident took place wherein a man misbehaved with a lady doctor on Sunday and the hospital was acting on the matter as per the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC). The accused was admitted to the psychiatric ward due to some health issues on Tuesday. As soon as other doctors came to know about him, they got restless to take action against him and had done a gherao of the ward. The police used the jeep to get the accused out with the help of the hospital’s security which was an emergency measure and no one was injured, she added.
