A mob of pharmacy owners attacked a group of junior doctors at a government hospital in Kalyani, Bengal, for prescribing generic medicines instead of branded names. A little before midnight, some junior doctors on duty were sipping tea at a kiosk near the hospital gate when they were surrounded by a mob. The men abused the doctors for prescribing generic drugs, and after a heated exchange assaulted them. Hearing the commotion, more doctors rushed out of the hospital. At this, one of the attackers took out a gun and held it to a doctor's head.
Before leaving, they threatened the doctors with dire consequences. All government-run hospitals have fair price medicine shops selling generic medicines and offering discounts of 60-70% on the maximum retail price, making them much affordable. This has, obviously, led to the loss of business for pharmacies in the vicinity of hospitals. "Some of…
