Kullu/Shimla, Dec 23: A senior resident doctor at Shimla’s Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) was suspended on Monday evening following a shocking video that captured him repeatedly punching a patient who objected to being addressed disrespectfully as ‘tu’.
The incident, filmed by an attendant in the pulmonary medicine ward, shows Dr. Raghav Narula, 31, in a surgical mask raining blows on Arjun Panwar, 36, as he lay resting on a bed. Panwar kicked back in self-defense while another doctor attempted to restrain his legs, escalating the assault.
Panwar, admitted for a bronchoscopy due to shortness of breath, alleged that after the procedure, Dr. Narula approached him to discuss medical reports and casually used ‘tu’—a informal/second-person pronoun often seen as rude. “When I politely asked if he speaks to his family members the same way, he lost his temper and started beating me,” Panwar told media.
Police have registered an FIR against Dr. Narula, a senior resident in the pulmonary medicine department. The IGMC administration, acting on directions from Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, formed a three-member probe committee, said Medical Superintendent Dr. Rahul Rao. “Action will be based on the probe report. Police are investigating separately,” Rao added.
Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil assured “exemplary action” against the doctor and confirmed an inquiry into the role of other medical staff present, including the second doctor who held the patient’s legs during the attack. “We’re probing everyone in the ward at the time,” he stated.
The swift suspension came late Monday, highlighting growing concerns over doctor-patient violence amid rising healthcare tensions across India.
The case has sparked outrage on social media, with calls for stricter professional conduct training and zero tolerance for physical altercations in hospitals. IGMC, one of Himachal’s premier medical facilities, now faces scrutiny over ward safety protocols. Further updates from the probe and police inquiry are expected soon.
