Four Slapped With NSA for Attacking Health Workers in Indore

Six more have been detained in connection with the incident, said the Indore police.

A mob in Indore attacked health officials who were trying to trace a person who had come in contact with a COVID-19 patient.

(Photo Courtesy: ANI Twitter video screengrab)

The Indore district administration on Friday, 3 April, invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against four men involved in the alleged attack on health workers in Taatpatti Bakhal area of the city. The police had arrested seven persons for the attack on Thursday, 2 April and four of them have been slapped with NSA, an official said.

“Four persons were booked under the relevant provisions of the IPC and Information Technology Act for spreading a rumours and inflammatory messages about coronavirus on social media. Arif Khan (26) has been arrested in this case, while the search is on for three other absconding accused,”

Rajesh Dandotia, Additional Superintendent of Police Crime Branch (Indore)

The Indore police on Friday also detained six others in connection with the incident. "Six more men are being questioned about their involvement in the incident," Indore's Chhatripura police station in-charge Karan Singh Shaktawat said.

Doctors Attacked While COVID-19 Contact Tracing; 2 Injured

A five-member team from the health department had gone to Taatpatti Bakhal on Wednesday, 1 April, to quarantine relatives and acquaintances of a COVID-19 patient, when an unruly mob attacked them with stones, injuring two women doctors.

A woman doctor said that they were rescued by police personnel. "The moment we started enquiring about a particular person's health, people started protesting and later some of them hurled stones. We were saved by police," she said.

Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Pravin Jadia called the incident as “very unfortunate”, and said that medical personnel were working to protect people from coronavirus but were being attacked.

“Two women doctors suffered injuries on their legs in the incident. They somehow protected themselves by hiding inside the vehicle of the tehsildar,”

Dr Pravin Jain, CMHO

A case was registered at Chhatripura police station. A police official said that miscreants also broke barricades.

Sources in the police told The Quint,

(With inputs from PTI.)