Bhopal: Two men, who were among those arrested for assaulting on-duty women doctors in Indore, are now going to be moved to a hospital in Bhopal for the treatment of Covid-19. This comes a day after they were admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Medical College in Rewa, where the authorities faced massive public resentment over the issue.
The Shivraj Singh government in the state faced criticism for sending prisoners from the hotspot (Indore) to Rewa and Satna, which are yet to report a single case of Covid-19.
Earlier this month, the two men were slapped with charges under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and shifted to Satna jail, where they tested positive for the novel coronavirus. One of their associates had also tested positive at Jabalpur central jail a few days ago.
Meanwhile, after receiving the test report, the administration shifted the two prisoners to the hospital in nearby Rewa, where these inmates were kept at an isolated floor.
However, this was not received well by the locals, who voiced their resentment against admitting Covid-19 patients. They were also joined by Congress leaders who breached the lockdown to stage protests. The Congress leaders were later booked for the same.
Senior Congress leader Ajay Singh, who hails from the region, slammed the Shivraj government and demanded that the two patients be shifted outside Vindhya region.
Medical associations, opposing the move, closed down all chemist shops in Rewa.
Earlier, Shivendra Upadhyay, chairman of State Bar Council had moved a petition in the district court opposing the shifting of prisoners to Rewa. Upadhyay had alleged that as per a recent order, Supreme Court had banned the routine shifting of prisoners, which was breached by the Indore administration.
He further said that the prisoners were also being kept along with the other patients at the medical college, which is a violation of the set parameters. The apex court had directed the authorities to shift the ailing patients to nearby hospitals.
Among other sections, Upadhyay had demanded contempt action and punishment under section 307 of IPC for risking lives of those in unaffected areas. "We had urged the district judge to forward contempt proceedings to SC or else we would be directly approaching the apex court," Upadhyay had said.
Responding to the objections being raised, the state government took prompt action and permission for an ambulance to reach Rewa and bring the patients to Chirayu Hospital in Bhopal was issued by a sub divisional magistrate of Bairagarh circle.
Sources in Rewa claimed that the ambulance would reach in wee hours on Tuesday for taking the prisoners to Bhopal.
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