In a ghastly incident on Saturday, the Visakhapatnam police brutally assaulted a doctor, tied his hands and dragged him on the road for allegedly creating nuisance in public and abusing the YSR Congress-led state government in an intoxicated condition.
According to the reports, the videos of a police constable kicking and flooring a bare-chested Dr K Sudhakar had gone viral on social media, drawing ire, not just from the opposition parties but also civil society.
A series of videos showed that the suspended doctor was walking in the middle of the road shirtless. The cops tied his hands up, even as another constable hit him with a stick. The doctor was seen lying down on the road, with his hands tied. Later, the police put him in an auto and took him to the police station.
Andhra doctor tied-up, thrashed by Vizag cops. Cops claim doc psychologically disturbed & drunk. Same doc was suspended by Jagan govt two months ago, when he spoke up against lack of N-95 masks in govt hospital in Narsipatnam. Vizag top cop suspends constable for thrashing doc. pic.twitter.com/aE9vhp38hx
— Paul Oommen (@Paul_Oommen) May 16, 2020
The doctor was earlier suspended for requesting PPE kits
Reportedly, Sudhakar, an anesthesiologist at Narsipatnam government hospital was suspended by the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government last month on disciplinary grounds after the doctor had demanded protective gears to treat coronavirus patients. The doctor had alleged that the government was not providing an adequate number of PPE kits and N-95 masks to the doctors.
“We are asked to use the same mask for 15 days before asking for a fresh mask. How can we treat patients risking our lives?” he asked.
A month after his suspension, the police brutality against the doctor has been reported after a police constable was seen attacking Dr Sudhakar in a public road. The doctor’s hand were tied behind his back by the policeman and beat him up before bundling him into an auto-rickshaw.
The opposition parties, especially Telugu Desam Party condemned the attack against the doctor incident, alleging that the incident reflecting the poor state of law and order situation in the state.
TDP General Secretary Nara Lokesh, took to Twitter to attack the YSR Congress-led government in the state. He tweeted, “Dr Sudhakar, who had only asked for a mask, was unfairly suspended. The Dalit doctor has now been tied up and beaten up with a lathi by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. We condemn this incident.”
.@ysjagan గారిది క్రూరమైన మనస్తత్వం.మాస్క్ ఇవ్వమని వేడుకున్న డాక్టర్ సుధాకర్ ని నియంతలా సస్పెండ్ చేసారు.ఒక దళిత డాక్టర్ ని తాళ్లతో కట్టి,లాఠీలతో కొట్టించడం జగన్ ఉన్మాదానికి పరాకాష్ట.వైకాపా ప్రభుత్వ దుర్మార్గ చర్యను తీవ్రంగా ఖండిస్తున్నాను. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/4n5nxAtz81
— Lokesh Nara #StayHomeSaveLives (@naralokesh) May 16, 2020
Allegation that doctor was in an inebriated condition
According to the New Indian Express report, Dr Sudhakar was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and then caused public nuisance near the Paalem Port Hospital Junction. As per the report, the heavily drunk doctor had arrived in his car near the junction and had allegedly tried to remove the barricades on the main road.
The doctor had tried to stage a sudden protest on the national highway, stating no particular reason. The doctor, who was in his car, reportedly had hit a biker. The police claimed that Dr Sudhakar tore off his shirt, attacked and damaged a constable’s phone.
However, Dr Sudhakar has denied that he was drunk, according to the News Minute report.
Cop suspended
Visakhapatnam police commissioner RK Meena said that the constable who behaved rudely with the doctor was placed under suspension, pending an inquiry.
The police commissioner said that the police control room had received a call informing that a person was creating nuisance on the highway at Akkayyapalem area. The police rushed to the spot and ascertained that the person was Dr Sudhakar of Narsipatnam government hospital, presently under suspension.
“Sudhakar was in a drunken state and he behaved rudely with the police. He snatched the mobile phone from a constable and threw it away,” the commissioner said. “The doctor is apparently suffering from some psychological problems,” the police commissioner said.
The doctor was later taken to the police station and from there to KGH for alcohol test. A case under section 353 of IPC was filed against the doctor.
