Mangaluru police used teargas inside hospital, damaged ICU doors - The Week
Uproar erupted on
Friday morning after videos emerged that purportedly showed police personnel,
some in riot gear, entering a hospital in Mangaluru and trying to force ward
doors open the previous night. On Thursday, Mangaluru
witnessed violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that left
two people dead in police firing.
The videos are from
CCTV cameras at the Highland Hospital in Mangaluru; the bodies of the two
firing victims were brought to this institution, which is privately owned. The News Minute reported that the two firing victims: Jaleel
Kudroli (49) and Nausheen Bengre (23), were brought to Highland Hospital. The
hospital informed police that the bodies could not be kept there as it did not
have a morgue and the case was a medico-legal case. On hearing of the death of
the two people, people started gathering outside Highland Hospital and a
confrontation ensued between protesters and personnel.
The video clips show
policemen running through a corridor and attempting to kick open a door and
using lathis and shields to push people at the other side away.
Local reports
claim hospital staff were beaten by the police. Another video from
Highland Hospital showed policemen running after people in the hospital's
lobby. Some people reportedly rushed to the ICU of Highland Hospital after the
police fired teargas. The News Minute reported teargas was used at the
hospital's parking lot and lobby. The online portal reported the police even
banged on the doors of the ICU, damaging them.
Daiji World, a publication that operates from Mangaluru, reported
that even people bringing the injured were targeted by the police. Daiji
World quoted a doctor as saying, "Police had resorted to lathi
charge on patients' relatives inside the hospital, spreading fear among the
patients, doctors and staff.” The bodies were
finally shifted to state-run Wenlock hospital after negotiations involving the
victims' families and community leaders. Daiji World reported the police were inside Highland
Hospital for nearly 45 minutes and left after doctors assured only patients and
their relatives were present there.
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