The suspects involved in the alleged assault on three security guards and a mediaperson at the entrance to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (MCH) on Wednesday are still at large even after their whereabouts were reportedly tracked by the police based on CCTV footage. Seeking quick action by the police, members of the Medical College Staff Council staged a protest near the hospital on Thursday.
The attack took place when a youth organisation functionary, who came along with his wife to meet the hospital Superintendent without any pass, was prevented at the gate by the security guards in the morning. According to the guards, the man turned aggressive over denial of permission. Later, a gang of his supporters arrived at the spot and allegedly manhandled the guards, who were admitted to the MCH. The journalist was allegedly attacked while trying to capture the incident on his mobile phone camera.
The injured security guards, Vineshan, Sreelesh, and Ravindra Panikkar, and journalist P. Shamsudheen filed a petition with the Medical College police. They also submitted CCTV visuals.
Condemning the attack, office-bearers of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists said Shamsudheen had, in fact, survived a murder attempt along with the security guards. They alleged that the gang members had attempted to throttle him after smashing his spectacles.
Meanwhile, the Medical College police said they were yet to record the arrest of any suspect. They also declined to comment on the complainants’ allegation that the attackers were Democratic Youth Federation of India workers. “Investigation is on into the incident by a team of senior police officers,” they said.
