Medical malpractice: Doctors’ bail pleas to be heard on 10th

Petitioners submit that arrest was politically motivated as doctors were protesting against government at the time.

LAHORE:

Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Sattar Langha has set October 10 for arguments on the pre-arrest bail pleas of seven doctors accused of medical malpractice resulting in the death of a child during the Young Doctors Association strike in July.

Petitioners Dr Usman, Dr Sulaiman, Dr Adil, Dr Assad, Dr Hannan, Dr Usmanul Haq and Dr Tajammul contended that they did not work at the Mayo Hospital emergency ward, where the child died, nor were they present at the ward at the time of his death. They submitted that their arrest was politically motivated as doctors had been protesting against the government at the time.

The judge sent the bail pleas to the district and sessions judge for consolidation in the trial court, which is headed by Additional District and Sessions Judge Nisar Ahmed.

Meanwhile, the police submitted the interim challan in the trial court, stating that they were investigating videos and other documents provided by the accused doctors.

They said that they had found no evidence linking Dr Adil with the offence that could be mentioned in the challan.

According to the FIR registered on the complaint of Muhammad Afzal, father of one-and-a-half-year-old Fahad, in Gowalmandi police station, the accused doctors removed a drip from his son during the YDA strike that resulted in his death.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2012.