A paramedic working at an isolation ward of a hospital has alleged that she was physically assaulted by her neighbours who said they would be infected with coronavirus if she enters her house using a gate adjacent to theirs, police said.

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The complainant, a resident of Meerganj locality in Town police station area of the district, and she works at the Begusarai Sadar Hospital as an auxiliary nurse midwife. Town police station SHO said she has lodged an FIR against her neighbours including a former ward councillor and two women.

He said the complainant, who has been attached to the hospital's isolation ward, has alleged that she was stopped from entering her home through the back gate which she was doing as a precautionary measure by her neighbours. "I was told by my neighbours that I had brought the infection from the hospital and if I had to enter my house I must do so from the front gate and not the one that is adjacent to theirs. "They also said that water spilled out on the streets when I took bath which increased their risk of getting infected with coronavirus," the woman told reporters indignantly.

The SHO said the accused have denied the allegations and claimed that it was a "trivial dispute". An investigation has been initiated and further action will be taken as per the findings, he added.