Indian doctor suspended, charged after viral video shows him assaulting patient

A senior resident doctor at a government hospital in Shimla, the capital of India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh, has been suspended and charged by police after a viral video appeared to show him repeatedly striking a patient inside a ward, triggering an investigation and widespread public backlash.\nThe mobile phone footage, filmed by an attendant at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital on Monday and widely shared on social media, shows a masked doctor punching a man lying on a bed, while another staff member appears to restrain the patient’s legs as he tries to fend off the blows.\nPolice have since filed a formal criminal complaint against Dr Raghav Narula, 31, a senior resident in the pulmonary medicine department, while hospital authorities have set up a three-member committee to examine the incident and determine responsibility.\nThe patient, identified as Arjun Panwar, 36, has alleged that the confrontation began after he objected to being addressed using “tu”, an informal Hindi form of “you”, and asked the doctor to speak more respectfully.\n\nDoctor thrashing a patient in IGMC Shimla.pic.twitter.com/4hzSg92X2O\n— International Relations (@Intl_Relations0) December 22, 2025\n\n“I had just undergone a bronchoscopy and was struggling to breathe. When I asked for oxygen, the doctor questioned my admission status,” Panwar told NDTV, adding that the exchange escalated after he protested against what he described as rude behaviour.\n“I requested that he speak to me with respect, but he became confrontational. He responded by saying, ‘tu is just tu’. When I asked if he spoke to his family in such a manner, he claimed I was getting personal and began hitting me,” Panwar said, according to the broadcaster.\nHospital officials said the internal inquiry committee was formed on the orders of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, who described the incident as unacceptable.\nA separate police investigation is under way following the filing of a criminal complaint.\nState health minister Dhani Ram Shandil said “exemplary action” would be taken should misconduct be established, with investigators also examining the role of other medical staff present at the time.\nNarula has denied wrongdoing in interviews following his suspension, telling NDTV he had “no regrets” and accusing the patient of verbally abusing him without provocation.\nHe claimed the argument began while he was checking the patient’s medical records and that he had not intended any disrespect, saying he had used the informal “tu” in a remark meaning “you look familiar”, which he said angered the patient and led to the confrontation.\n“You are seeing 10 to 15 seconds of the fight, but the argument began five to 10 minutes before that,” Narula said, alleging that the patient attacked him with an iron rod and punches and that he acted in self-defence.\nThe incident has sparked protests and political criticism in Himachal Pradesh, with opposition leaders citing it as evidence of declining standards in public hospitals, while resident doctors’ groups have called for a fair inquiry that considers all available evidence.\n