BJP MLA Harish Khurana’s alleged assault and abuse of a doctor has snowballed into a storm for justice, with AAP legislators sitting-in outside the office of the Medical Superintendent (MS) at Acharya Bhikshu Hospital on Friday. Led by AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj, the MLAs confronted the hospital administration over the delay in filing an FIR, highlighting that the MS claimed to have “settled” the matter and was now refusing to register a police complaint.
The AAP Delhi State President further charged that the intern doctor was being threatened with career ruin if they did not withdraw the complaint, drawing parallels to similar suppression of justice at RML Hospital. Senior AAP leaders and MLAs including Sanjeev Jha, Vishesh Ravi, Kuldeep Kumar, and Jarnail Singh joined the protest.
During a sit-in outside Acharya Bhikshu Hospital, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “We have received information that the intern doctor who was assaulted and abused on Thursday at 11:15 am by BJP MLA Harish Khurana and his supporters, is now facing political pressure along with his family. They are being told to withdraw the complaint or else their career and life will be destroyed. More than 24 hours have passed since the incident, yet MS Uma has not forwarded the written complaint of 42 doctors demanding FIR registration to the police.”
The AAP Delhi Unit Chief said that on the way to the hospital, he and his team met the local SHO and brought him into the MS’s office. “The SHO clearly said that he had not received any complaint from the MS. When we asked MS Uma Ji why she had not forwarded the complaint, she first claimed she had never received any. But when our Doctor Cell President Dr. Nimmi Rastogi showed her the four-page complaint signed by 42 doctors, which is also viral on social media, the MS became angry,” he added.
Saurabh Bharadwa pointed out, stating: “The MS told us, ‘This is my job, who are you to ask? I am not answerable to you.’ We reminded her that we are the public and elected representatives. If the MS intimidates and threatens doctors, we will ask questions. The MS then said that she had already resolved the matter and would not send the complaint to the police.”
The AAP Delhi Unit Chief further said, “When the ACP arrived, he also asked us what our role was if the matter had already been resolved. We asked him to show us any law or rule that gives the MS the power to resolve a criminal case. There is a complainant, there is an accused, and this is a criminal matter. A government doctor was abused and assaulted, which is a non-bailable offence. How can the MS settle this? She has no such authority. At this question, MS Uma simply walked out.”
He revealed that the entire episode has been recorded. “We anticipated the kind of treatment we would face, so we recorded everything. We have all the facts about what the SHO, ACP and MS said.”
Drawing parallels with a recent controversy, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Today, attempts are being made to repeat what happened in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. There too, an intern doctor was attacked and senior officials, the MS and MD, colluded with the government to suppress the matter and protect the accused. This only inflamed public anger further. The same is happening here. The accused is BJP’s Moti Nagar MLA Harish Khurana, and efforts are underway to shield him. Despite 42 doctors submitting a written complaint, no FIR has been registered. The MS says she has passed the complaint ‘upwards’ and higher officials will decide.”
On social media platform X, Saurabh Bharadwaj posted, “The hospital’s MS and administration have colluded with the government. The MS is saying she has already settled the matter. First, she claimed she never received any complaint. When we showed her the complaint, she said she would decide whether or not to forward it to the police. In Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital, the administration also tried to protect the guilty in a similar way. It is the MS’s duty to ensure institutional FIRs are filed in cases of assault on doctors.”
He stressed, “The MS is unwilling to register an institutional FIR. If she refuses, she is violating Section 154 of the CrPC (mandatory registration of FIR), abetting the suppression of offences under IPC, and violating provisions of the Medical Protection Act. No MS has the authority to decide whether or not an institutional FIR should be filed in cases of violence against doctors or hospital staff.”
Supporting Saurabh Bharadwaj, senior AAP leader and MLA Sanjeev Jha said, “When we met the MS, her attitude was shameful. She claimed she had not received any complaint, even though the complaint is running on TV, viral on social media, and available everywhere. How could the MS not have received it? This clearly shows she is colluding with the government and the BJP to shield the MLA instead of acting on the assault.”
The AAP MLA noted, “Today, not only doctors at Acharya Bhikshu Hospital but across Delhi are in shock. All doctors’ associations have demanded action. The MS’s first duty is to protect her doctors. On one hand, the BJP government in Delhi is failing to provide sufficient doctors, medicines and basic facilities in hospitals. Doctors are working 12–16 hours under crisis conditions. Yet, instead of supporting them, the MS is siding with the BJP to protect the accused MLA. This is disgraceful.”
Sanjeev Jha added, “In the past six months, there has been massive public anger against this BJP government. From jhuggi residents to unauthorized colonies, to markets and traders, everyone feels unheard. But let me make it clear: violence has no place in democracy. The assault must be condemned. We oppose it. But if the people’s voice is suppressed, they will raise it democratically. If someone raises questions democratically, their voice should not be silenced. Our demand is that the MS immediately register an institutional FIR to ensure doctors’ safety.”
Meanwhile, Veteran doctor Dr. Nimmi Rastogi stated, “Violence against doctors is not a new issue. The BJP promised systemic reforms and a new law against such violence in its manifesto. But now, when the moment has come, BJP’s own machinery is betraying doctors and suppressing the matter. This small spark could turn into a major fire. AAP stands firmly with doctors. We are against elite culture. An MLA is not above a common citizen. When an MLA pressures a respected doctor to treat him first, and then abuses and physically assaults that doctor, it is unacceptable.”
What do the rules say?
Saurabh Bharadwaj explained, “Any assault on a doctor inside a hospital is a cognizable offence. Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and several state-specific Medical Protection Acts, such cases must be reported to the police. The role of the hospital administration or MS is to immediately facilitate and ensure institutional FIR registration.”
What happens when cases are suppressed?
The AAP Delhi Unit Chief concluded, “Many MSs, under pressure from politicians or fearing damage to the hospital’s reputation, try to suppress or ‘settle’ cases. But the law does not give them the discretion to refuse reporting a cognizable offence. This is dereliction of duty. Therefore, MSs are legally and duty-bound to register institutional FIRs in cases of violence against doctors. Failure to do so amounts to suppression of crime, with legal consequences to follow.”
