Four COVID-19 patients were booked after they allegedly abused and spat on a woman doctor at a health facility, police said on July 30.

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A police official said that the four accused, who have recovered from the disease, will be arrested after the completion of their seven-day institutional quarantine period. "Some coronavirus patients last week spat at and aggressively abused West Tripura District Health Surveillance Officer Sangita Chakraborty at a COVID care centre in Agartala when she had gone there on July 24 to admit five women who had given birth to babies a day before," the police officer said.

Chakraborty also told the media: "One of the patients rinsed his mouth and spat on my head from the roof of the COVID care centre, forcing me to rush inside the centre." She said they had reached the care centre with a health department team and police personnel to admit the new patients when a group of people, men and women, obstructed and falsely claimed that there were no vacant beds in the centre. "When requested by the other doctors and nurses to return to their beds, some of them started agitating using filthy language, spat at me and threatened to touch me and infect me with coronavirus," the health officer said.

The Tripura Health and Family Welfare Department Director said that the appropriate authority would take stern action against the accused persons. Stating that Chakraborty, a young doctor, worked hard to take care of COVID-19 and other patients, the Tripura Health and Family Welfare Department Director told IANS: "We will not tolerate any unruliness in the health institutions and COVID care centres."

Demanding 'exemplary punishment', the All Tripura Government Doctors' Association (ATGDA) general secretary said they had raised the issue with higher authorities, including the Additional Chief Secretary (in-charge of the Health and Family Welfare Department). "If they failed to take any action, we would take appropriate legal steps," the ATGDA general secretary told IANS. The Tripura Law and Education Minister, who is the spokesman of the state government, said that severe legal action would be taken against those who ill-treated the woman doctor.