Protest against assault: Hospitals shut down OPDs in Sargodha

‘Ward boy suffered multiple fractures in right arm’, police say FIR will be registered after investigation.

SARGODHA:

Outpatients departments of all public hospitals in the district were closed at noon on Thursday and work remained suspended throughout the day to protest a delay in police’s action in the case of an assault on a paramedic allegedly by some Elite Force officials on Tuesday night.

A sit-in was held at the Sargodha district headquarters (DHQ) hospital. Besides Paramedical Staff Associations, it was attended by representatives of Pakistan Medical Association Sargodha chapter, basic payscale-4 government employees, All Pakistan Clerks Association and Sanitary Workers Association.

The protesters demanded action against Elite Force officials Muhammad Javed and Muhammad Waseem. These officials are accused of brutally beating up a ward boy, Kazim Hussain, at the DHQ hospital’s Emergency Ward on accidently pushing a stretcher on which an Elite Force official was lying injured. The protesters said the strike at the Outpatients Department would continue until an FIR was registered and the suspects arrested.

The Elite Force officials had visited the hospital for medical treatment of a colleague injured during a physical training session.

The medical examination of the ward boy, carried out at the hospital after the assault, concluded that he had suffered multiple fractures in his right arm in the assault. PMA Sargodha chapter president Sikandar Hayat said the report had been sent to Factory Area police who, he said, had on Tuesday night turned down their application for registration of an FIR on grounds that a medical report was not available.

SHO Mirza Sadiq told The Express Tribune that they had received the medical report and were investigating the matter. He said an FIR would be launched after the investigation was complete.

Elite Force Sub Inspector Sajid Kalyar declined comment.

Sargodha DPO’s public relations officer said action would be taken against the officials if they were found guilty.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2012.