Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Medical and paramedical staff of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Wednesday staged protest over a female doctor being physically assaulted and robbed by an unknown individual in hospital premises on Tuesday.

A large number of the hospital staff including representatives of Young Doctors Association (YDA) gathered outside administration office and chanted slogans against poor security arrangements of the hospital due to which such untoward incident occurred.

They demanded for immediate action against the culprit, to which the administration of the hospital devised an eight-member committee to look into the matter of security arrangements. “The committee is requested to submit the report immediately”, read the notification shared with Daily Times.

According to the available copy of FIR registered with the Karachi Company police by PIMS Assistant Security Officer Mehboob Abbasi, House Officer Dr Aqsa Tahreem was heading towards the nursing counter in the doctor’s corridor in Surgical Ward 6 of the PIMS when an unidentified man, wearing a blue shirt and white shalwar jumped out of the shadows.

The man allegedly pointed a pistol at her with one hand and snatched her mobile phone and handbag. The alleged robber also pulled her face veil, sending her crashing to the floor and leaving her with injuries to her face and arm. Dr Tahreem was survived when her colleague Dr Adeel Khan rushed to the spot. The robber then fled from the scene.

The doctors said that this was not new happening in the hospital as its security system, that has been installed through hefty amount of money,  was unable to provide safe working environment to the staff. “We cannot work in such an unsafe and unsecured environment anymore where anyone can barge in and point a pistol at us,” said a doctor.

Insiders closed to the matter revealed that an analysis of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) installed in the wards had shown the movements of the robber. Moreover, they had allowed officials to identify the assailant as a drug addict.