Mangalore: Almost 4,000 government doctors across Maharashtra went on an indefinite strike from Thursday onwards protesting against the alleged assault on a resident doctor in Solapur’s Civil hospital by three policemen on Tuesday morning. The strike will directly affect work in all public hospitals of the state.

Dr Prashant Patil was thrashed by three local police personnel following an altercation, apparently was asked to attend to a pregnant lady who they had brought in, even as he was helping another patient with a CT scan test.

Medical Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) President Dr Santosh Wakchaure said, “Patil was from a surgical ward, he requested them to visit the gynaecology ward for delivery. When he told them that he does not have the expertise to help in delivery and that he was already busy with another patient, they started beating him up.”