A doctor at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital was attacked with a knife by the son of a patient on Wednesday. The young man's mother was being treated for cancer by Dr Balaji Jagannathan, a renowned cancer specialist who works as an associate professor in the hospital's department of cancer medicine.

Stabbed with a knife on the chest, forehead, back, head and stomach

The accused youth has been identified as Vignesh. He is a patient attendant in the same hospital. A hospital official said that Vignesh had a complaint regarding the treatment of his mother Kanchana. He attacked the doctor inside the OPD while discussing the treatment. He stabbed the doctor seven times. He locked the OPD room from inside and stabbed Dr. Jagannathan on his neck, behind the ear, chest, forehead, back, head and stomach. He lost a lot of blood.

Dr Jagannathan is a heart patient and has a pacemaker. A team of doctors operated on him immediately. He is being treated in the ICU and his condition remains stable. The hospital staff immediately caught the accused and handed him over to the police, the official said. The attack sparked outrage among the people and doctors and nurses gathered in front of the hospital entrance and expressed their strong protest.

A protesting doctor said that we do not get security while on duty. Government doctors have announced a strike and Health Minister Subramanyam is scheduled to hold talks with them. Police Commissioner A. Arun inspected the hospital and reviewed the security arrangements. He said that a police post will be set up on the premises.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) said it was shocked and in disbelief at the incident. It called for strict punishment for the accused and safety measures for doctors.

Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed grief over the incident and said that the attacker has been arrested and he has ordered a detailed investigation. All steps will be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future. AIADMK chief EK Palaniswami said that there is no security for doctors in government hospitals and this reflects the law and order situation.

BJP state unit chief K Annamalai blamed Chief Minister Stalin and the DMK regime for the incident. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said the attacker had been visiting the hospital for his mother's treatment for six months and there was no suspicion about him.