Hyderabad Protest Turns Violent: ASHA Worker Slaps Policeman

Hyderabad (The Uttam Hindu): A woman healthcare worker slapped a police officer here on Monday during the protest for a hike in salary. The incident occurred when Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers were holding a protest demanding that the Congress government in Telangana fulfil its promise to hike their salary to Rs 18,000.

The ASHA workers were staging a protest at the office of the Director of Medical and Health Services (DMHS) in Koti. The situation turned tense when police intervened to stop the protest, leading to a heated argument and jostling between the two groups. Amid a tense situation, the police personnel forcibly physically lifted the protestors and carried them to police vehicles.

In the melee, one of the protestors on a vehicle slapped Srinivas Chari, Circle Inspector of Sultan Bazar Police Station. The protestor was apparently in pain after her foot was stuck in the door. One of the protestors fell unconscious when police were arresting her. She was shifted to Osmania General Hospital. Meanwhile, the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has condemned the alleged highhanded attitude of police towards the ASHA workers.

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao questioned the ill-treatment of male police personnel with the ‘mothers of Telangana’. Taking to the X, he asked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy if ASHA workers were not looking like mothers. “What sin they have committed that you are dragging them on the roads,” asked the BRS leader. He said the women belonging to Dalit and weaker sections were ill-treated. KTR said that the Chief Minister has not only failed to implement the six guarantees given to people but is implementing emergency as the seventh guarantee.

The BRS leader said the condition of ASHA worker Santoshi was critical. He demanded that the government provide the best medical treatment to her. KTR also urged the Chief Minister to solve the problems of ASHA workers.