The caller asks for Rs. one crore or Rs. 50 lakhs and monthly ‘protection money.’ Not paying up could mean being beaten up or even shot. In eight months, there have been 23 cases of threats, extortion demands and violence targeting Bihar’s doctors. This is not the first time they have faced such violence, but the problem is growing.
In October last, Dr. Yogendra Prasad Singh of Araria district was beaten up for not paying. Criminals then wanted monthly protection money of Rs. 10,000.
Dr. O.P. Lal of Gopalganj was also attacked, while Dr. Raj Kishore Singh of Siwan was shot at. Extortionists sought Rs.1 crore and Rs.50 lakh from two prominent Patna doctors Dr. Hemant Kumar Verma and Dr. A.K. Singh.
The doctors’ response? A total of 160 have applied for arms licences, “although, most are from districts that are vulnerable,” an official said.
Doctors plan to escalate their protest. Honorary secretary, Indian Medical Association, Dr. K.K. Aggarwal and Dr. Sachchidanand Kumar, IMA president, Bihar, said doctors would hit the streets in protest across the country. They would also petition the Chief Minister.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Praveen Kumar Jha fled to save his life when six armed men stopped him near his clinic in Paliganj on May 24. His assistant was shot at, and driver Mithilesh Kumar beaten up severely.
Dr. C.B. Singh of Motihari faced a murderous attack, and criminals the clinic of Dr. Vivekananda Jha of Hajipur was fired at. Dr Satyendra Kumar posted at a government hospital in Gaya district was brutally beaten up on January 27. Dr Gaurav Khemka escaped shots fired at him in Patna in March.
“It reminds us of pre-2005 times when doctors had become soft targets for extortionists and criminals…some of the doctors were forced to leave,” said an eminent Patna-based doctor.
