Up in arms: Demonstrations continue for second day

GCUF students demand Randhawa’s arrest for allegedly beating up their teacher

FAISALABAD/ BHAKKAR: Demonstrations organised by doctors, irate patients, students and teachers in Bhakkar and Faisalabad on Monday continued for the second day on Tuesday.

The students, faculty and non-teaching staff of Government College University Faisalabad held a demonstration at Chenab Chowk on Tuesday and blocked the junction for traffic.

They demanded that police arrest Advocate Ahsan Randhawa and punish him for beating up Assistant Professor Khizar Samiullah.

The protesters said they would continue to protest until the police registered a case against Randhawa and arrested him.

In Bhakkar, the staff of Darya Khan Tehsil Headquarters Hospital observed a strike to protest against the alleged torture of the hospital’s medical superintendent.

The hospital’s OPD remained closed on Tuesday and several patients were seen waiting for treatment till the evening.    On Monday, a school teacher and her husband were injured in a road accident. They were brought to the hospital where the teacher died, apparently from want of timely treatment. Her family protested against ‘doctors’ negligence’ and apparently beat up the hospital MS.

The hospital’s doctors then called a strike. The doctors refused to treat patients brought to the hospital.

Abul Sattar, a patient’s attendant, told The Express Tribune that doctors had refused to operate on his mother who was scheduled to undergo eye surgery on Tuesday. The doctors, on the other hand, demanded that the MS and other doctors be provided security.

Later, City police registered a case against the protesters including Rana Arshad, Rana Shabbir, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Altaf and 30 unidentified protesters.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2016.