Doctor stabbed at Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital in Chennai; one arrested

The oncologist who was attacked has been identified as Balaji Jagannath. He has been admitted in the ICU, and his condition is said to be critical

A doctor was stabbed in the neck allegedly by a patient’s family member at Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital (KCSSH) in Guindy, Chennai, on Wednesday (November 13, 2024) morning. The police said the suspect has been apprehended and taken to the Guindy Police Station, and four others have been detained for inquiry.

The doctor who was attacked has been identified as Balaji Jagannath. He has been admitted in the ICU, and his condition is said to be critical.

According to the police, the suspect, identified as Vignesh of Perungalathur, got an outpatient patient entry pass and entered the Department of Oncology where Dr. Jagannath was on duty at around 10:30 a.m. The suspect was accompanied by a few others, sources said.

They reportedly got into a heated argument with the doctor over the treatment given to Vignesh’s mother Prema, who is suffering from cancer. They held the doctor responsible for her critical condition.

Vignesh, in a fit of rage, allegedly whipped out a knife and slashed the doctor’s neck. Onlookers immediately came to his rescue and rushed him to the ICU.

Private security personnel guard the insides of the hospital, while the police guard the outer premises.

‘Doctor a cardiac patient’

L. Parthasarathy, director of KCSSH, told reporters that the injured doctor, an associate professor of Medical Oncology, was attacked inside his outpatient department room. He sustained injuries in seven places, including on his neck, behind the ear, forehead, back, and head. “There was a lot of blood loss. He is already a cardiac patient and had undergone surgery. As he is on an anticoagulant, there was excessive bleeding,” Mr. Parthasarathy said.

“We immediately rushed him to the operation theatre and a team of surgeons from Cardiothoracic, Vascular and Neuro Surgery departments resuscitated and operated on him. He is haemodynamically stable,” he added.

CM orders inquiry

In a post on social media platform X on Wednesday, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin termed the incident “shocking” and said that the suspect was “immediately arrested.”

“I have ordered to give necessary treatment to the doctor and to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident,” the CM said.

“The selfless work of our government doctors is immeasurable... It is our duty to ensure their safety during this work,” he further said, adding that the State government would take measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

Following the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Health Minister Ma. Subramanian visited the hospital. 

Doctors’ associations condemn attack

The Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA) condemned the brutal assault on the oncologist and demanded that the government punish the culprits. The SDPGA has decided to stage a flash strike to stop all services, except emergencies, at KCSSH.

The Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association demanded that those involved in the attack be booked under provisions of the Tamil Nadu Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2008.

The Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association, meanwhile, withdrew all medical services, except emergency and life-saving services, from Wednesday across all government medical college hospitals, districts government hospitals, and primary health centres. Association president K. Senthil said the agitation would continue till further notice. “We already made representations to increase safety on hospitals campuses. This time, we are taking up the issue very seriously and will not withdraw our agitation unless concrete action is taken,” he said.

Published - November 13, 2024 12:24 pm IST