Cong’s Ambala councillor who alleged oxygen scarcity at civil hospital booked

Soon after the incident, several doctors at the hospital had written to civil surgeon Dr Kuldeep Singh flagging the ‘misconduct’ of the public representative

Five days after Congress councillor Mithun Verma and some locals gathered outside the isolation ward of the civil hospital and alleged unavailability of oxygen, police booked him on charges of spreading infection and obstructing doctors from discharging their duties.

(Representative Photo/HT)

Soon after the incident, several doctors at the hospital had written to civil surgeon Dr Kuldeep Singh flagging the ‘misconduct’ of the public representative and a case was registered on Saturday. The civil surgeon, too, had dismissed Verma’s claims regarding oxygen scarcity.

In his complaint, Dr Pavneesh Aggarwal said Verma and a few others had gathered outside the sampling area.“They misbehaved with the staff and circulated a video alleging unavailability of oxygen to defame the hospital,” the doctor said.

Verma, who is an advocate, said the allegations were baseless. “I had reached the hospital to help a ward resident, who told me about scarcity of oxygen at the hospital, after he failed to receive a response from the chief medical officer (CMO) and other doctors. Oxygen was arranged with the help of the sub-divisional magistrate, who rushed to the shot,’ Verma, who is a member of the party’s district coordination committee on Covid relief, said in a statement.

A case was registered under sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and Indian Penal Code at the Baldev Nagar Police Station. The leader is yet to be arrested.

Earlier, the owner of a social media news portal Yashpal ‘Khabri Lal’ had also been booked on the complaint of the civil surgeon, for making videos inside an isolation ward and provoking his viewers against doctors.