Fasting fans refuse checkups by doctors in Mumbai

The 17 hunger-strikers at Azad Maidan refused to be examined by a government doctor on Saturday fearing they could be force-fed.

The protesters will break their 12-day-old fast on Sunday morning.
On Saturday morning, the police requested the organisers of the protest to allow them to send government doctors to check health indicators of those on indefinite fast. But the hunger-strikers sent a letter signed by all of them saying that they did not want to be examined by government doctors.

One of the hunger-strikers, Sudhakar Lagrankar, said, “We do not want government doctors; the doctors here are taking good care of us.”

Dhirajbhai Rambhia of Tarun Mitra Mandal, the Kutchi Visa Oswal Jain group that has deployed around 70 volunteers, including doctors to take care of the hunger-strikers, said, “After the police said they wanted to bring government doctors, we spoke to the volunteers on fast.

They refused; some were worried that they would be forced to break their fast,” said Rambhia.

Doctors from Tarun Mitra Mandal, including Dr Kalpana Kamani and Dr Pargji Waza, are there at the protest venue, regularly checking health indicators. Blood pressure and pulse are checked every three hours.

“They (the hunger strikers) did not want to take any help from the government,” said Kamani.