The Tea Association of India (TAI), while condemning the Teok Tea Estate lynching case where a doctor was beaten to death, urged the Assam Government to implement an act for the protection of the doctors and other medical personnel in the state. The association also urged the government to devise a Standing Operational Procedure (SoP) so that as soon as the information of such assault occurs, a rapid response system is triggered to arrest the situation from deterioration.
PK Bhattacharjee, Secretary-General of the association said, “The Assam Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage To Property) Act, 2011 has not proved to be deterrent to assailants because of various factors. Hence, we urge the state health minister to take initiative for the protection of the medical personnel.”
“The centre has conceptualized a bill which is reportedly in process. This Bill considers an assault on the doctors and other medical personnel, damage to hospital property and equipment a major offence. A rigorous fine with imprisonment etc. and such stringent provision of law can go a long way to bolster the morale of the Medical Persons engaged in the Tea Industry,” Bhattacharjee stated in a press communiqué.
This incident was preceded by a report of yet another assault on a Medical Officer from Dikom Tea Estate.
Photo: TIME8
