Assam: The police arrested 21 people who were part of 250-strong mob that beat a 73-year-old doctor to death in a tea garden in Assam’s Jorhat on Saturday evening. The arrests were made on the basis of the video evidence that the administration collected from the site after the incident.
Deven Dutta, 73, died of his injuries after he was thrashed on Saturday by the workers of the tea estate because he was not present when a temporary worker died at the estate hospital.
"The garden doctor, 73-year-old Dr Deben Dutta was assaulted following the death of one Somra Majhi who was undergoing treatment at the estate's hospital," a statement by Jorhat district Deputy Commissioner Roshni Aparanji Korati said.
Somra Majhi, the 33-year-old worker, was taken to the hospital in a critical state around noon on Saturday. At the time, Dr Dutta was not at the hospital and the pharmacist was also on leave. The nurse on duty administered saline.
Blaming Dutta for being absent from duty, the enraged workers locked him up in a room after he reached the hospital and proceeded to beat him.
Read | Doctor, 73, beaten to death in tea estate
The police statement read: "Mindless and murderous assault perpetrated on the Medical Officer of Teok Tea Estate while he was on duty in the Estate Hospital."
The tea estate’s welfare officer Jiban Kurmi was also roughed up after he tried to rescue the doctor. Teok Tea Estate is a tea garden under Amalgamated Plantations Pvt Ltd, an enterprise carved out of Tata Tea Ltd.
The Indian Medical Association has called a strike, including withdrawal of emergency services, starting 6 am on Tuesday.
