Resident doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences have declared an indefinite strike after one of their colleagues was assaulted by a senior doctor. In a statement late last night, the AIIMS said the incident in question took place on Wednesday, following which the senior doctor apologised to his junior.


The doctors have demanded immediate suspension of the senior doctor, who also heads a department at the premier institute.


The Resident Doctors' Association has also urged that the doctor in question should not be allowed to take in thesis candidates and conduct any kind of verbal or written examination.


As a mark of protest, the doctors yesterday worked wearing helmets. They also sought a written apology from the senior doctor concerned. In a letter to AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, the RDA alleged that the senior doctor slapped a senior resident in front of attendees, nursing staff and colleagues, and that the resident doctor was under depression and had gone home.


The RDA said an atmosphere of fear existed in the department headed by the senior doctor, and that nobody protested as the chief threatened to fail the junior doctors. The resident doctors also raised the reported misbehaviour of the senior doctor towards the female residents.  -- PTI