A medical team which had gone to collect samples of a woman who died in Poshwara village of Naidkhai in this district on Monday was pelted with stones by locals.
As per the reports, the team received an input that the70-year-old woman had died due to illness and doctors were suspecting her deathmight have been due to COVID19.
As the doctors reached the village to collect her samplesand the samples of her family, they came under heavy stone pelting.
Later, the doctors called the police for help. An eyewitnesssaid as the residents saw the police coming they started pelting stones on themtoo.
Locals alleged the police used tear gas shells and beat upseveral youth and ransacked residential houses in the village.
“Police entered our homes and beat up women and children.They went on rampage and beat us,” the locals alleged.
According to reports, several police officials and localswere injured during the stone pelting. An official said they arrested severalboys in the village after the incident.
A doctor said it was “disgusting” that locals attackedfrontline workers who put their lives at risk to keep people safe from thevirus.
Chief Medical Officer, Bandipora, TajamulHussain confirmedthe incident. He said the doctors were attacked when they had gone to collectsamples.
SSP Bandipora, Rahul Malik denied the allegations ofransacking and beating by police. “After police came under stone pelting theywere bound to react,” he said.
This is not the onlyincident were doctors were pelted with stones. On April 6 stones were pelted ona team from health department and Rapid Response Forces (RSF) in Gurroravillage Bandipora after they tried to inquire about a probable virus patient.