Chennai:
DMK chief M Karunanidhi has condemned the arrest of a 70-year-old doctor in Chennai who stopped a police sub-inspector from entering the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital with his shoes on.
The policeman had gone to the Apollo Hospital ahead of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's visit to meet media baron Sivanthi Adithan, who is admitted there. Dr Karunanidhi is the personal physician of Mr Adithan. He was arrested a few days ago.
The DMK chief has demanded "action against those responsible" and "unconditional withdrawal of charges" against the doctor.
The doctor, the DMK chief adds, "was first kept in police lock up, presented before the 18th Metropolitan Magistrate and then hurriedly sent to Puzhal prison on charges of voluntarily causing hurt to a government servant while on duty, assaulting or using force on a public servant, wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation".
Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr Pagalavan told NDTV, "The police team was there as part of the security arrangements ahead of the Chief Minister's visit. Dr Karunanidhi actually asked the police officers not to enter the ICU and there was an altercation. He's not part of the Apollo Hospitals and he has no locus standi to direct the police. The doctors there were wearing shoes too."
Hospital sources told NDTV, "Dr Karunanidhi is not with us and he was at the ICU only as the personal physician of Dr Adithan and we don't our hospital to be drawn into this."
The doctors' associations are planning to go on a token strike if the case against the doctor, a retired government doctor, is not withdrawn. A senior doctor who did not want to be quoted told NDTV, "As personal physician of a patient, Dr Karunanidhi was well within his rights to ask security personnel to not enter the ICU with shoes on. It's arrogant and vindictive on the part of the police to slap a case of this kind against a doctor who only did his duty."