Dr. Seuj Kumar Senapati vividly remembers the afternoon in early June he thought he would die.
It was his first job and his second day at work at a COVID care center in Hojai district, in India’s north-eastern state of Assam.
He was asked to see a patient who had been admitted that morning. When he did, he found him unresponsive.
The patient’s family was furious when he told them the person had died. In moments, Dr. Senapati recalled, all hell broke loose. He said they started hurling chairs around the room, breaking windows, and abusing staff.
Dr. Senapati ran for canopy, but soon more people joined the family, and that they found him.
A horrific video of the attack shows a gaggle of mostly men kicking Dr. Senapati and hitting him on the top with a bedpan – then they drag him outside and still beat him. Dr. Senapati, bloodied and shirtless, are often heard howling in pain and fear.
“I thought I wouldn’t survive,” he said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in India last year, several doctors are attacked by families of Covid patients. The recurring complaint: their loved ones weren’t treated properly or weren’t allotted a bed on time.
Doctors have protested and gone on strike demanding stricter laws, also as more staffing and better infrastructure to alleviate the pressure on them.
Hospitals too are ill-prepared. When Dr. Senapati was being attacked, no one came to his rescue because the remaining staff was also being beaten up or hiding. A lone guard was helpless against the mob.
“My clothes were torn, my gold chain was snatched and my mobile and spectacles were smashed. But after about twenty minutes, I managed to flee,” Dr. Senapati said.
He drove straight to the local police headquarters and registered a complaint. The video of the attack, which has since been shared on social media, caused a furor. The government promised swift action and 36 people, including three minors, are charged for the assault.
