2018 video of doctor attacked in MP recirculated amidst Kolkata doctors’ strike

“দেখুন ঠিক কেন ডাক্তাররা নিরাপত্তা দাবি করছেন। দেখুন পুলিশের ভূমিকা। পরিষ্কার সিসি টিভি ফুটেজ থাকলেও কোন শাস্তি হয় না। (This is exactly why doctors are demanding safety. See the police’s role. Despite a clear CCTV footage, there is no penalty.)”

In the backdrop of the ongoing doctors’ protest in Kolkata, the above message is viral in Bengali on social media platforms. The message is circulated with CCTV footage that shows a group of people thrashing a doctor. A cop can be seen in the first few seconds of the clip, however, he does not intercept the violence.

From a Facebook page CB Culture, the video received 40,000 views.

The clip had over 24,000 views from the profile on an individual users Akash Sadhu. Several other users, pages and groups have widely circulated the video in the last 24 hours.

The video is also being shared with an English caption. Alt News has received queries of people wondering if the incident pertains to Bengal.

2018 incident from Madhya Pradesh

A careful glance at the video is sufficient to debunk the false claim that it depicts a recent event. Since it is a CCTV footage, the top left corner of the clip carries a date – ’10-24-2018′.

A keyword search with time filter on Facebook led us to an October 31, 2018 report in medicalreportertoday.com. According to the report, the incident took place in the district hospital of Bhind in Madhya Pradesh. The family members of a deceased patient thrashed the on-duty doctor inside his chamber. The report by medicalreportertoday.com also carried the same video uploaded last year.

The incident was also reported by Dainik Bhaskar. According to the media outlet, the death of a 40-year-old patient, Sushma, sparked the attack. The woman was brought to the district hospital where she was examined by Dr RK Agarwal, who later referred the patient to a hospital in Gwalior. However, the patient lost her life while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. In a fit of rage, her family members assaulted Dr Agarwal and also thrashed the windows of his chamber. A SAF guard posted in the hospital witnessed the attack but did nothing to prevent it, per the report. The patient was severely anaemic, with her haemoglobin count less than 3, according to Dainik Bhaskar.

An old incident from Madhya Pradesh is being currently circulated on social media with a Bengali text, thus giving a false impression that not only is the incident recent but pertains to West Bengal.