AIIMS security guards assault four

Four people, including the father of a patient, were injured after allegedly being assaulted by security guards outside the trauma centre at AIIMS, police said Sunday. While the hospitals authorities said that the group of relatives had forcibly tried to enter the building where the patient was admitted, her father claimed the guards had misbehaved with his wife and thrashed them with sticks when he tried to raise the issue.

Five guards were booked in connection with the incident and detained, they said. "A 37-year-old woman complained that the security guards thrashed her husband and assaulted her sister at the gate of the trauma centre," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Devender Arya said.

A case was registered at Safdurjung Police Station, he said, adding CCTV footage was being analysed. "At around 3 pm, a group of people came to see the patient who is admitted on the seventh floor of the trauma centre building. It was led by a woman and they tried to barge inside through the emergency ward," Dr Biplab Mishra, faculty incharge of security at AIIMS Trauma Centre, said.

"The security guards and special security guards tried to stop them because we allow only one or two relatives to meet the patient, but they started arguing and the woman grabbed the collar of one of the special security guards," he said. Other people in the group started abusing them and became aggressive. Around 40 more joined and tried to overpower the guards who tried to stop them from entering inside, Mishra claimed.

"We called the police and meanwhile, our guards used sticks to disperse the crowd but did not beat them," Mishra said. "One person sustained a head injury in the chaos. He was given stitches and his condition is stable. We have given a complaint to police," Mishra added.

However, according to Asghar Ali, a former mediaperson and a resident of Nizamuddin, his 15-year-old daughter was admitted to the hospital on Monday after she fell from their terrace. He said he used to spend nights in the hospital, while his wife visited her in the afternoon.

The guards of the trauma centre used to pass vulgar comments at his wife and when she objected to it, they misbehaved with her, Ali said. "My wife then called me and I reached the hospital. I asked them to call the people who had misbehaved with her. The guards denied it and closed the gate from inside," he claimed.

"Later, they opened the gate and started beating us with sticks. Around six to seven people got hurt. I sustained a head injury and my shoulder bone was broken," Ali said, adding they had filed a complaint against the hospital guards.

(With inputs from agencies.)