A doctor in Karnataka’s Udupi district has been suspended after a video of him allegedly beating up a journalist went viral on social media. It has caused much stress on local journalists and the public in Karnataka, and the Health Department has been taking action against Dr Mahendra Kumar Shetty.
Dr Mahendra Kumar Shetty attacked the journalist in a Kundapura hotel and was waiting for the journalist before attacking him. It was because of the allegations of irregularities in the doctor's work and complaints that patients were being asked to pay money for medical services. Now the allegations are being brought to the public’s attention again following the reported assault.
The journalist had also published reports about alleged corruption and the collection of money from patients at a government hospital. The reports were about complaints about Dr Shetty’s behaviour that he had been making while working in the government healthcare system. Doctors and journalists had been in trouble after those reports were published.
The alleged assault was recorded on video, and the video was then circulated on social media. The video itself received a lot of attention and calls for action against the doctor. The video is said to have been so widely circulated in the health department and the public’s eyes in the first place.
Dr Mahendra Kumar Shetty was transferred to a government hospital in Karkala before the recent action. But reports indicate that after his transfer, he remained on leave for 58 days. The reasons behind the extended leave have also made the doctor’s service record a subject of debate.
With the recent allegations of assault on Shetty, the Health Department has suspended Dr Shetty. The suspension is a big administrative action as of now, they say.
The case has raised broader questions about the safety of journalists who are reporting on alleged wrongdoing in public institutions. Journalists and media organisations have expressed concern that physical attacks can have a chilling effect on reporting, particularly when reporters investigate allegations involving government departments or public services.
The journalist community has been demanding that Dr Shetty’s case be taken seriously by the government and the assault be investigated independently, and the investigation be done after it is proven, and action can be taken if the allegations are proved. The demand comes as there are growing fears that journalists are being attacked on the job or attacked in real life when doing their jobs.
The charges that hospital administration collected money from patients are also important, since public health institutions are supposed to provide services according to government rules and prescribed procedures. Any proven practice of demanding or collecting unauthorised payments from patients would raise serious concerns about accountability and the functioning of the healthcare system.
At the same time, allegations of corruption and assault must be examined through due process. The viral video may bring some evidence of a physical encounter, but investigators will need to establish the entirety of the incident, the identities of everyone involved, and the events leading up to it.
Investigators may also review those earlier reports about alleged financial irregularities and take further action if necessary. If patients or other evidence suggest unauthorised collections, the department would then take further action as per the rules.
So the incident isn’t only a dispute between a single doctor and a journalist. It has raised questions about accountability in government hospitals, how journalists are protected, and what responsibilities public servants should have. The suspension is a first administrative reaction, and once any criminal or departmental investigation is concluded, further action will be taken.
News of the case has attracted attention in Udupi district, and journalists are calling on the authorities to handle the assault properly and for those involved to be held accountable. And this makes us realise that fights over news reports need to be mediated through legal channels and not in violence.
With the viral footage putting the alleged assault into the public eye, we expect the case to be investigated, and the police and health department officials will keep an eye on it. The investigation, the legal action for the journalist community, and any further action against Dr Mahendra Kumar Shetty will be the focus now.
