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Sacked AIIMS Director Venugopal moves Delhi High Court

The police were called in to remove the crowding patients at AIIMS, where angry doctors and faculty staff vowed to keep even emergency services shut.

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NEW DELHI: AIIMS director Dr P Venugopal on Thursday filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging his sacking in the wake of his differences with Union Health Minister A Ramadoss.

Justice Anil Kumar, while admitting the petition, posted the matter for hearing on Thursday at 2 pm.

Former Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley is expected to argue on behalf of the beleaguered director.

The institute's 17-member apex body headed by Ramadoss on Wednesday recommended Venugopal's removal charging the noted cardiologist with violating the hospital's code of conduct.

This was, however, opposed by three of the 15 members who attended the three-hour meeting.

Meanwhile, relatives of seriously ill patients pounded the doors of the emergency wards in desperation and others crowded the lawns of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Thursday as doctors observed a 24-hour strike.

Besides AIIMS, one of the leading hospitals in the capital, the Maulana Azad Medical college hospital and the University College of Medical Sciences also shut outpatient departments to protest Wednesday's humiliating dismissal of P. Venugopal

The police were called in to remove the crowding patients at AIIMS, where angry doctors, faculty staff and even other employees vowed to keep the outpatient and emergency services closed till Thursday evening.

A seriously ill patient died at AIIMS on Wednesday after the resident doctors went on strike without any notice.

"We are investigating the matter," said Sunil Chumber, an AIIMS official.

The AIIMS faculty will hold a general body meeting in the evening to decide the future course of action, a hospital source said.

"This is too much of political interference in the functioning of AIIMS. The sacking of the AIIMS director is shocking and the cabinet should reject the resolution and reinstate the director," said Sanjiv Mallik, president of the Indian Medical Association.

Venugopal had a public spat with Ramadoss last month after AIIMS emerged as the epicentre of protests against the government decision to hike caste-based quotas for admission to institutes of higher education.

While Ramadoss alleged that "some people" had turned the country's leading medical institute into a "political hub" and warned of action against them, the sacked AIIMS chief accused the minister of curtailing its autonomy.

AIIMS treats over 8,000 patients every day, most of them from poor families who flock from all parts of northern India.

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