PMCH Junior Doctors Get Reprieve; Suspension Revoked
Patna: June 19, 2008
 A Patna High Court judge on Thursday, while hearing the anticipatory bail petitions of six junior doctors and an X-Ray technician, ordered a stay on their arrests until the next hearing date that is scheduled for June 21.
Judge Shivkriti Singh, after hearing the arguments from the defense team, put a stay on the arrests of the junior doctors who allegedly took part in the beating of three media photographers on June 5.
As reported before, a Patna District Judicial Magistrate, a day after the incident, had issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) junior doctors including Kumar Anand, Anil Kumar Singh, Arun Kumar Das, Sanjeet Kumar Agarwal, Vinod Kumar Paswan, Sukhdeo Acharya, and X-ray technician Sudhir Kumar.
Shortly after the High Court order, the PMCH acting Principal Dr. C. B. Chowdhary announced the college's decision to revoke their suspension saying the junior doctors in question were free to return to the college and resume their duties.
However, unhappy and disappointed by the High Court's stay and the PMCH's decision to reinstate the offending doctors, the members of the Rashtriya Mahila Brigade, at R-Block on Thursday, staged a protest demanding permanent suspension of the 'criminals who were posing as doctors' at the PMCH.
Urging Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Health Minister Nand Kishore Yadav to intervene in restoring the sanctity of the PMCH, the national president of the Brigade Anita Sinha demanded immediate arrests of the junior doctors who had taken part in the beating of press photographers, revocation of their medical licenses, and monetary compensation for the injured cameramen.
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