Hospital staff await Rangers inquiry into ‘beating’
Paramedical staff go on strike to protest against beating of a colleague allegedly at the hands of a Rangers jawan.
KARACHI:
Paramedical staff at the National Institute of Child Health went on strike from morning till late afternoon on Monday to protest against the beating of a colleague Azam Ali allegedly at the hands of a Rangers jawan on February 18.
President for the Karachi chapter of the Pakistan Nursing Association Aijaz Ali Kaleri said that a group of people came to visit a patient in surgical ward 19-A at 10:30 pm on February 18 even though visiting hours had ended at 6 pm. After they persisted, Ali allowed them into the ward for 15 minutes. “However, an hour and a half later the group became very noisy and when he asked them to leave, they started to threaten Ali,” he said. Later the group complained to the Rangers stationed outside the hospital and the jawans started beating Ali.
When the paramedical staff protested, Kaleri said, NICH director Dr Jamal Raza assured that an inquiry would be conducted for which a three-day deadline was set. However, when the deadline expired on Monday, Kaleri claims, Raza denied the need to lodge an FIR.
“Brigadier Mehboob and Captain Kaleem said that if we lodge an FIR the matter will be decided in court and they would have to close their internal inquiry,” Kaleri said. The paramedics agreed that if the accused were found guilty in the Rangers internal inquiry there are known to be stricter consequences and thus decided to lodge an FIR after three days.
When The Express Tribune contacted Captain Kaleem, he seemed to be unaware of the stated understanding. Rangers spokesperson Major Bilal said the matter was “nothing serious and has been resolved”. He added that there was no departmental inquiry being conducted and the entire issue was “a misunderstanding”.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2011.
Paramedical staff at the National Institute of Child Health went on strike from morning till late afternoon on Monday to protest against the beating of a colleague Azam Ali allegedly at the hands of a Rangers jawan on February 18.
President for the Karachi chapter of the Pakistan Nursing Association Aijaz Ali Kaleri said that a group of people came to visit a patient in surgical ward 19-A at 10:30 pm on February 18 even though visiting hours had ended at 6 pm. After they persisted, Ali allowed them into the ward for 15 minutes. “However, an hour and a half later the group became very noisy and when he asked them to leave, they started to threaten Ali,” he said. Later the group complained to the Rangers stationed outside the hospital and the jawans started beating Ali.
When the paramedical staff protested, Kaleri said, NICH director Dr Jamal Raza assured that an inquiry would be conducted for which a three-day deadline was set. However, when the deadline expired on Monday, Kaleri claims, Raza denied the need to lodge an FIR.
“Brigadier Mehboob and Captain Kaleem said that if we lodge an FIR the matter will be decided in court and they would have to close their internal inquiry,” Kaleri said. The paramedics agreed that if the accused were found guilty in the Rangers internal inquiry there are known to be stricter consequences and thus decided to lodge an FIR after three days.
When The Express Tribune contacted Captain Kaleem, he seemed to be unaware of the stated understanding. Rangers spokesperson Major Bilal said the matter was “nothing serious and has been resolved”. He added that there was no departmental inquiry being conducted and the entire issue was “a misunderstanding”.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2011.