Duty Doctor Stabbed By Patient's Son In Chennai, Motive Allegedly Linked To Treatment

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A senior oncologist, Dr. Balaji, was critically injured on Wednesday after being stabbed by a young man at Kalaignar Centenary Hospital in Chennai. The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the government multi-specialty hospital, where Dr. Balaji sustained multiple stab wounds to his neck, head, and upper chest. He was immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the same hospital and is in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses reported that the hospital staff quickly intervened, apprehending the assailant and handing him over to the police. Police identified the attacker as Vigneshwaran, a 25-year-old from Perungalathur, though the motive behind the attack remains unclear. 

However, a hospital staff member, speaking anonymously to IANS, suggested that Vigneshwaran’s actions were allegedly due to dissatisfaction with the treatment provided to his mother at the hospital. The police stated that further information will be available after a detailed interrogation of the accused.

The attack has heightened tensions in and around the hospital, with doctors’ unions in Tamil Nadu reportedly planning a flash strike in response. This incident follows the shocking rape and murder of a woman doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata in August, which had previously sparked nationwide protests and demands for security for doctors.