Arfat Khan
Jammu: Putting hundreds of patients to ordeal, a group of hooligans claiming to be journalists today barged into the Gandhi Nagar Hospital and try to hamper its normal functioning.
Holding mobiles in hand, this brigade of so called journalists creating commotion kept moving from one ward to other thereby creating panic among the poor patients.
“We were frightened, the way a group of persons carrying mobiles in hand entered inside the wards and start putting irrelevant queries.” said Sunil Sharma, attendant of a patient in the hospital. “Their behavior no way qualify them to be journalists especially the way they jeopardized the vital services in the hospital, complained another attendant of a patient namely Rajinder Kumar. The situation only saved with the intervention of hospital employees and Dr Ashwdev Singh Manhas, Medical Superintendent, Gandhi Nagar Hospital.
Interestingly, while all this merrily going on none from the police care to respond to the repeated calls of Dr Ashwdev for enforcement to tackle a huge group of trouble creators bragging themselves as media men.
Later, agitated employees of the Gandhi Nagar Hospital including doctors held massive demonstration against the highhandedness of fly by night social media warriors and went on strike for lackadaisical approach of police in acting against these hooligans despite prior complain by hospital authority through official communication on yesterday.
The strike was called off by the agitated hospital staff and doctors in the interest of patients with the intervention of hospital MS Dr Ashwdev who assured the protesting staff of pursuing legal course with police against the revellers for threatening the staff of hospital.
Demanding stern action against these hooligans, Rakesh Bakshi, President Gandhi Nagar Hospital Employees Association said “The behavior of these so called Journalists was highly condemnable as they tried to misbehave with the hospital staff as well as with Medical Superintendent Dr Manhas when the later tried to stop them from creating fuss in the hospital premises”. We will not calm until police take legal action against these nuisance elements.
This is a sheer act of goondaism which no media persons ever resorts to while performing their professional duty, said Sushil Sudan, President JK Medical Employees Federation. The Government and Jammu Press Club needs to intervene to curb the menace of these self styled journalists which are bringing disrepute to the fourth pillar of democracy.
“We are here to serve the patients in the hospital and clearly the hospital authority has sensitized the patients and their attendants regarding the safety of their belongings, he said. Despite this even if any items got stolen, the authority refer the matter to police with CCTV footage to solve the case, he added.
Protesting against manhandling of hospital staff and Dr Manhas, president Pharmacists Association Jammu Province-Jarnail Singh stated that these blackmailers should be booked for threatening hospital staff. Police needs to act as per law against them.
It’s worth to mention here that yesterday Dr Ashwdev Singh Manhas, Medical Superintendent has lodged a complaint against some unidentified persons who barged in the hospital premises and was creating disturbances. Later, Dr. Manhas also dashed another letter to SP Cyber crime for action against one social media facebook page for carrying disinformation campaign to malign hospital.
Insiders in the hospital revealed JKGN that this whole episode is the handiwork of one self-styled journalist whose undue demand earlier was trashed by Dr Manhas. Now, her cameraman who happened to be the son of a nurse serving in the said hospital and facing enquiry over indiscipline issue has joined hands together to harass otherwise honest and upright Dr Manhas besides malign the hospital image, said an employee of hospital preferring anonymity.
We made several attempts to elicit police view especially their visible absence today amidst three hours high nuisance drama inside hospital by self proclaimed media men , however SP (South) Vinay Sharma not responded to our repeated calls.