Opinion - Editorials

Healing the healers

AFTER MAKING THEIR point, doctors in Bihar have done well to withdraw their strike protesting the brutal killing of an eminent surgeon, Nand Kishore Agarwal, by extortionists on November 12. The six-day strike by 20,000 doctors of government and private hospitals threw the health services of the State out of gear, with several patients put to great suffering for want of emergency care. Those seeking medical assistance were turned away by hospitals, and those admitted were advised to leave. However, with the police arresting some of the suspects in the killing, and with the release of another surgeon, Nagendra Prasad, from a three week captivity, the doctors seem to have realised that they would lose all public sympathy should they continue their agitation. Already the work stoppage, provoked no doubt by the murder of their colleague, was leading to a situation where other tragedies were becoming inevitable. Quite understandably, there was a sharp difference of opinion among the representatives of the Indian Medical Association, which had called for the protest action, on whether emergency care should also be denied as part of the strike. A section of doctors argued that the strike should not be ended until the police apprehended all the killers of Dr. Agarwal. In the end, sober counsel prevailed. The IMA first agreed to attend to emergency cases before deciding to withdraw the agitation.

This is not at all to suggest that the apprehensions of the doctors were misplaced. With gangsters targeting the medical fraternity and seeking protection money, the failure of the law and order machinery in Bihar to provide a safe working environment was unacceptable. The doctors no doubt felt justified in seeking something more than a verbal assurance from the State Government. The murder of Dr. Agarwal, who was gunned down along with his assistant when he refused to pay the extortionists, was certainly not an isolated incident. Representatives of the IMA say more than 15 doctors have received threatening calls after the murder of Dr. Agarwal. A heart specialist, A.K. Thakur, has complained that he received three such calls, one of them demanding Rs. 50 lakh. Evidently, kidnapping and killing of doctors is becoming a menace in Bihar. According to press reports, over the past four years 35 doctors have been kidnapped, and five killed. Only last year, the State witnessed a similar spectacle with doctors on the warpath following the kidnapping of a neurosurgeon, Ramesh Chandra. However, the police managed to arrest the kidnappers and secure the release of Dr. Chandra without any ransom payment. The release of Dr. Prasad, and a sympathetic State Government that did not invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act, finally brought about a situation in which the IMA could deliberate on the issues involved without being carried away by emotional rhetoric.

However, important lessons need to be learnt by the State Government. The security that has been provided to hospitals and nursing homes should continue until the notorious names among the extortionists are brought to justice. There is a strong case for the Government to act tough against the extortionists. The release of Dr. Prasad came after the police arrested the wife and brother of Kumud Thakur, the prime suspect in the kidnapping. Unless all the suspects in the Agarwal killing are arrested, and the threats from extortionists stop, doctors in Bihar will continue to fear for their lives and security.

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