21 picked up in assault case, Assam doctors to stage protest

A Correspondent

JORHAT: The Assam branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA) will boycott duty on September 2 on Monday as a mark of protest against the killing of Teok Tea Estate Medical Officer Dr Deben Dutta (73) on Saturday evening.Dr Dutta succumbed to his injuries at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital after he was assaulted by tea garden labourers who blamed him for the death of a patient. A total of 21 people of the tea estate involved in assault were picked up by police and sent to an unknown destination under police custody. Soon after the completion of the enquiry, the culprits will be punished and sent to jail, said a police officer on Sunday.A public meeting was held at Jaugdaur Tin Ali under Teok Police Station following the barbaric attack on the senior medical officer who hailed from the area. But tension still prevails in the tea garden belt under the district. People lit candles as a mark of condolence and protested in every nook and corner in Teok as well as in the premises of Jorhat Medical College and Hospital. “In the history of the tea industry this has happened for the first time that a doctor has been assaulted to death by labourers,” said Dr. Abhishek Sahu, a medical officer of Assam Branch of Tea Association.Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa has been camping in Teak Tea Estate and monitoring the situation since Saturday evening, said sources. Police forces, including para-military personnel, have been deployed within the entire belt while Jorhat Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Nimbarkar is personally monitoring the situation round-the-clock, said sources.IGP (law and order) Mukesh Agarwalla also rushed from Guwahati and took stock of the situation.

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