Kannur: The Indian Medical Association has condemned the attack on the Pariyaram medical college by the hartal supporters on Saturday and urged the police to invoke the Hospital Protection Act, which is non-bailable, against the guilty. IMA state chief Dr V.G. Pradeep Kumar criticised the police for taking the case lightly and said “hospitals should not be places for violence.”
The BJP-RSS workers stoned an ambulance of the Payyanur cooperative hospital when it was returning after dropping a patient at the Pariyaram college during the hartal organised in protest against the murder of RSS worker C. Biju on Friday. The glasses of the casualty wing of the college also suffered damage worth Rs 25 lakh in the stoning. The strikers had camped around the medical college from Saturday morning and engaged in verbal fight with the police.
The Pariyaram police registered a case against nearly 15 BJP-RSS workers under sections of IPC 143, 147, 148 and 427 (unlawful assembly, rioting, armed with deadly weapons, mischief causing damage).
However, under the Hospital Protection Act, any offence committed under section 3 is cognizable and non-bailable. The offenders can be punished with imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of '50,000.
The attackers are also liable to pay compensation to the institution for the damage to medical equipment and loss of property.
Kannur IMA chairman Dr K.V. Mukundan visited the hospital on Tuesday and held talks with the officials, including the principal.
