The demonstration conducted by the United Democratic Front (UDF) councillors in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation at the office of the District Medical Officer (DMO) on Monday turned unruly, with the police being forced to arrest the protesters.
The UDF councillors laid siege to the office in protest against the alleged failure on the part of the health care authorities to contain the fever outbreak. The demonstration turned chaotic after a few councillors had a heated altercation with DMO Jose D’Cruz. The agitators accused the official of misbehaving with some women councillors by making “inappropriate remarks.”
The protesters demanded the arrest of the DMO on the basis of a complaint they had submitted to the Vanchiyoor police. However, they turned against the police personnel and accused them of protecting the official. This led to a minor skirmish with the police using force to disperse the protesters from the office of the DMO. The agitators refused to disperse from the area and shifted their agitation to the office entrance. Later, they were arrested and taken to the Armed Reserve camp at Nandavanam, and released on bail. One of the agitators, Prathibha Jayakumar, who suffered from fever, collapsed and was hospitalised while the siege was under way.
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According to the police, separate complaints have been submitted by the councillors and the DMO, who alleged that he was prevented from discharging his duties and that alleged attempts were made to manhandle him. However, the police was yet to register any case in connection with the incident. Councillor Johnson Joseph alleged the role of some pro-left employees behind the issue. “The agitation was intended to be peaceful. However, the DMO with the assistance of some CITU workers created a panic situation and claimed that we were disrupting the functioning of the office,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) has condemned the incident and has accused the Corporation of being responsible for the current crisis. In a statement, KGMOA district president G.S. Vijayakrishnan and district secretary D. Srikanth said the DMO was being targeted, even while the local body had failed to undertake effective sanitation efforts. They cautioned that all doctors in the district would go on strike if such agitations were not withdrawn and appropriate legal action was not initiated against those responsible for the alleged attack on the DMO.