CBI starts probe in case of assault on Andhra Pradesh doctor, asked to submit report in eight weeks

Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation will now probe the case of an assault on a doctor by policemen in Vishakhapatnam during the lockdown. The video of his assault became viral on social media and the Indian Medical Association had condemned the attack.

The Andhra High Court had taken a suo motu cognisance on media reports that Dr Kolaventy Sudhakara Rao was brutally beaten by policemen.

The high court had ordered that his statement be recorded by a civil judge.

In April, Dr Rao, an anaesthetist in civil hospital Narsipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, was suspended after he brought to notice acute shortage of Personal Protective Equipment kits and N95 maks for healthcare staff. On government orders, the hospital where he worked had been converted into a COVID-19 isolation centre.

In his statement, he claimed that after his suspension, he was threatened by the police. On 16th May, when the lockdown was in place, Dr Rao claimed that he had gone out to deposit Rs ten lakh in an NBFC when he was assaulted by policemen.

"The Police took my keys from car, mobile and my purse with ATM cards. They tore my shirt and made me half-naked," he said in his statement. Dr Rao also alleged that four bottles of alcohol were planted in his car by policemen who mercilessly thrashed him

However, the state police said that Dr Rao was in an inebriated condition and repeatedly abused the policemen who asked him not to venture out because lockdown is in place. He was later arrested for assaulting policemen.

The statement of the doctor was submitted by the district judge of Vishakapatnam, along with a medical report that there are six injury marks on Dr Rao's body. This was missing in the affidavit submitted by the state government.

Doctors and policemen who examined him after the assault said he was suffering from acute and transient psychosis. He is presently admitted to a government hospital for mental health.

CBI has registered a case against unknown policemen for assault. "We will examine policemen who allegedly assaulted him and also record the statement of doctors," said the CBI. The Andhra High Court had asked the federal probe agency to submit the report in eight weeks.