A young man who stabbed a doctor multiple times at a Chennai hospital threw away the knife and calmly walked to the exit when people shouted “he cut him up” and security personnel grabbed him.
A video that emerged hours after the attack shows the accused, Vignesh, walking away after he stabbed Dr Balaji Jagannath, an oncologist and a teacher at the state-run Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital. The doctor had been treating the attacker’s mother, a cancer patient. The attacker reportedly suspected that the doctor had prescribed wrong medication to this mother.
According to a senior doctor, Dr Balaji has a pacemaker and received injuries to his forehead, back, behind his ear, and stomach. Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said he is in the ICU and his condition is stable.
In the video, the attacker is seen walking as he fishes out the knife used in the attack from his pocket. After what appears to be an attempt to wipe the blood off the blade, he throws the knife into the shaft area and keeps walking.
The man recording the video is heard saying, “Catch him at least now.” The accused says, “what if your mother or father were in trouble”. Amid the commotion and cries of “he cut him up”, the guards hold the accused. As the mob becomes violent and starts hitting him, a woman intervenes and stops them. He was later handed over to the police.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has ordered an inquiry and assured that such an attack won’t happen again. “Service of doctors is laudable… and it is our responsibility to ensure their safety… The government will take measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future,” he said in a post on X.
The incident has brought back the spotlight on doctors’ safety — an issue that took centrestage in the aftermath of the rape-murder of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August. Following a Supreme Court directive, a National Task Force has now recommended steps to ensure safety of doctors in duty.
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