PESHAWAR, May 9: Doctors of three teaching hospitals began an indefinite strike here on Tuesday in protest against Sunday’s attack on one of their colleagues at the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).

The strike call was given by the doctors’ action committee (DAC) after relatives of a four-year-old patient who had died in the hospital attacked and beat up Dr Tahir.

A DAC representative said the strike call would be extended to other hospitals of the province if the government failed to provide doctors and health workers with adequate security.

Only emergency cover was provided to the critically-ill patients at the city’s hospitals.

Patients had to return to their homes without being examined by the doctors. The Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) wore a deserted look as doctors kept away from the OPDs, wards and operating theatres.

DAC chief Dr Aziz said that a young patient by the name of Aziz Jamil of Pishtakhara village was brought to the child B ward in precarious condition on Sunday afternoon. The boy was given emergency treatment and his relatives were informed about the seriousness of his condition. Despite the best efforts of the doctors on duty the patient died within a few hours of hospitalisation, he said.

Dr Aziz said that after the boy’s death scores of his relatives came to the hospital and attacked Dr Tahir, an house officer at the ward, causing injuries to him.

“They tried to kidnap him but he managed to elude his would-be captors and in the process fell to the floor and became unconscious,” he said.

He said the policemen on duty did not stop the crowd because the father of the deceased happened to be a constable at the Pishtakhara police station.

Dr Aziz asked the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court to order an investigation into the matter and give exemplary punishment to the culprits.

A police official later said that constable Jamil of Pishtakhara police station had been arrested and was in police custody.

On Monday, he was allowed to attend the funeral of his son.