Doctor, 73, Beaten To Death By Tea Garden Workers In Assam

A 73-year-old doctor who was attacked by workers of a tea estate in Assam's Jorhat district on Saturday died of injuries at a government hospital.

"The garden doctor, 73-year-old Dr Deven Dutta was assaulted following the death of one Somra Majhi who was being treated at the estate's hospital," Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Roshni Aparanji Korati said.

The workers at the Teok Tea Estate had beaten up Dr Deven Dutta, a senior resident doctor, for allegedly being absent from duty and blamed him for the death of a temporary worker. 

Sukra Majhi, the 33-year-old worker, was taken to the hospital which is inside the estate, by her relatives. She was taken to the hospital in a critical condition around noon on Saturday.

But at that time, Dr Deven Dutta was not present in the hospital and the pharmacist was also on leave. The nurse on duty administered saline but worker died.  

When Dr Deven Dutta arrived at about 3:30 pm, angry workers thrashed him and locked him in a room in the hospital.

Dr Deven Dutta had retired long ago and was serving on extension at the tea estate and is considered to be the senior-most doctor in Jorhat.

The doctor was rescued by the police, Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Roshni Aparanji  Korati said.

Teok Tea Estate is a tea garden under the Amalgamated Plantations Pvt. Ltd. (APPL), an enterprise carved out of Tata Tea Limited. It about 22 km from Jorhat town.