Amid a stand-off between the doctors and the Haryana Police over an alleged assault by a police Inspector on an on-duty doctor in Karnal two days ago, the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) on Friday (March 6, 2026) gave a call for one-day suspension of OPD services across the State.
The association has demanded registration of a case against Station House Officer, Gharaunda, Inspector Deepak, along with the other police personnel involved in the alleged assault, their immediate arrest and a time-bound probe into the matter.
The Indian Medical Association, Haryana, too, has supported the doctors’ body and demanded an FIR under the Haryana Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property), Act, 2009.
Seeking intervention by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the IMA, Haryana, in a letter said that “it is disturbing when the force designed for protection of the law-abiding citizens becomes a source of intimidation and brutality, and that too of an on-duty government doctor”. Describing the police officer’s behaviour as “high-handed”, the IMA said it should not be tolerated, and the culprit be given an “exemplary” punishment.
In a closed-circuit television footage of the incident, the police officer is seen assaulting the doctor with another man in the frame trying to intervene.
The police officer allegedly caught hold of the victim, Prashant Chauhan, by his collar, slapped him and forcibly pushed him into a police gypsy while he was performing official government duty at the hospital, as per the version of the district unit of the HCMSA. The incident reportedly occurred inside the government hospital premises during duty hours. Mr. Chauhan was then taken to the police station, illegally detained for an hour and compelled to write an apology. He was released following an intervention from senior administrative officials.
The alleged incident took place following a verbal spat between the doctor and the police officer over phone after the former called up the local police station seeking deployment of a team at the government hospital to maintain law and order in view of surge in number of patients on the occasion of Holi.
The repeated calls and messages to Karnal DC Uttam Singh and SP Narendra Bijarniya did not elicit any response.
Published – March 07, 2026 10:05 am IST
