It was not clear if the pistol on his table kept alongside the stethoscope was meant to scare the patients or if he believed in treating his patients with shock therapy.
An Uttar Pradesh doctor was suspended from a Community Health Centre (CHC) at Malihabad, after a video which showed a pistol on his table while he was writing prescriptions went viral on social media platforms on Saturday.
According to the health officials Dr Jitendra Verma, who was posted at Malihabad CHC, was transferred and a probe was ordered into the matter. ''We have taken a serious note of the matter....he has been suspended....an inquiry has been ordered...we will take action against the doctor if the video is found to be true,'' said a senior health official in Lucknow on Sunday.
The official said that keeping a pistol on the table while examining the patients and prescribing them medicines might scare the patients.
Sources said that Verma had a valid license for the pistol but it was not immediately known why he chose to keep it on the table amid the medicines, stethoscope and other instruments. ''Maybe he apprehended a threat to his life and therefore kept the pistol on the table,'' said a paramedic also posted at the same CHC.
Earlier also Verma was in the news for the wrong reasons. About a month back a video showing him in an inebriated state while on night duty at the CHC had gone viral. The video was made by one of the attendants of a patient who had gone to the CHC to get him treated and was later posted on social media platforms. No action was taken against the doctor then.
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