Pvt hospital owner held for assaulting TV channel employee
LUCKNOW : Owner of a private hospital, booked earlier for allegedly spreading rumours about oxygen shortage in Lucknow, was arrested for assaulting an employee of a private TV news channel.
Akhilesh Pandey, who owns Sun Hospital here, was arrested on late Monday night and sent to jail on Tuesday.
AKHILESH PANDEY, WHO OWNS SUN HOSPITAL HERE, WAS ARRESTED LATE ON MONDAY NIGHT AND SENT TO JAIL ON TUESDAY, SAID POLICE
LUCKNOW : Owner of a private hospital, booked earlier for allegedly spreading rumours about oxygen shortage in Lucknow, was arrested for assaulting an employee of a private TV news channel.
Akhilesh Pandey (in his late forties), who owns Sun Hospital here, was arrested late on Monday night and sent to jail on Tuesday, said police.
The marketing personnel of the news channel was allegedly assaulted when he went to the hospital on Monday night and approached Pandey for a business deal, said cops.
“Akhilesh Pandey was booked under sections 392 (robbery), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC on the complaint of Nitin Mishra, an employee of a news channel. Mishra accused Pandey of illegally confining him and extortion,” said Chandra Shekhar Singh, SHO, Vibhuti Khand Police station.
While the police official claimed that the arrest was a result of an FIR against him for assault, Pandey’s family members alleged that the action was a fallout of the notice put up by his hospital regarding shortage of oxygen.
On May 5, an FIR was lodged under the Disaster Management Act, Epidemic Diseases Act and IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) against Pandey for “spreading rumours over oxygen shortage at the hospital.
The FIR was lodged two days after the hospital administration put up a notice asking relatives to take away patients as it was facing oxygen shortage.
The hospital administration moved the Allahabad high court challenging the FIR. On May 11, the court stayed any action against Akhilesh Pandey in connection with the case.
“My husband dared to speak the truth about shortage of oxygen. He is now being targeted for it. The administration and police are trying their best to dig out smallest of incidents to make a case against my husband,” alleged Pandey’s wife Preeti.