Bhubaneswar: Harassment of doctors and healthcare professionals involved in the fight against the pandemic coronavirus in Odisha continues unabated in the state. Saturday it was the turn of a lady doctor in the city to be abused by a Zomato delivery boy who also issued death threats to her as she refused to cancel her order. The doctor has already filed a report at the Nayapalli police station here and a probe is on.
Dr Amrita Patjoshi, who lives on N-5 in IRC village area under Nayapalli police limits had placed her order on the food delivery app Zomato. She received a call at around 3.00pm in the afternoon from a delivery boy who identified himself as Shankar. He asked her about the directions to her house which the doctor described in detail.
However, much to her dismay, Shankar went on calling her stating that he was unable to find her house. Then he asked her to cancel her order. When she refused to do so, the delivery boy allegedly abused her and even issued death threats.
The doctor then realised that it was because of her profession, she was at the receiving end of the abuses and death threat. She was forced to cancel her order.
Dr Patjoshi then lodged a complaint with the police Saturday evening itself. On the basis of the doctor’s complaint, the police have launched an investigation.
In spite of the Odisha government’s implementation of rules to prevent the harassment of doctors and healthcare professionals, such cases are on the rise. The Zomato incident is just another one in addition to the many that have already taken place in the state capital.
A week back, there was this incident of two nurses being forced to vacate their rented house as they are involved in handling of coronavirus patients. People are forgetting the fact that doctors and healthcare staff are putting their lives in risk to prevent the spread of the pandemic coronavirus.
PNN