Cong Leaders Accuse Police Of Committing Atrocities Against Women Health Workers

Dehradun: Women Congress leaders from Uttarakhand on Tuesday strongly backed agitating contractual health workers who have lost their jobs and accused the police of committing atrocities against them during a silent march to the chief minister"s residence here on Monday. At a joint press conference on Tuesday, PCC media incharge for Garhwal division Garima Dasauni Mehra and PCC spokesperson Sujata Paul alleged that during the clashes between the police and protesters on Monday the cops kicked a pregnant health worker in the stomach and pulled the arm of another so hard that she suffered a fracture. "Is this how corona warriors who risked their own lives during the peak of COVID-19 to save a millions of lives deserve to be treated? Is dragging and kicking a pregnant woman in the stomach part of the Uttarakhand government"s culture?" Paul asked. Clashes broke out between the police and the contractual health workers when the latter took out a silent march to the CM"s residence here in support of their demand for being adjusted against the vacant posts as promised by the state government. More than 2200 contractual health workers had been removed from their jobs on March 31. They were stopped by the police at the Hathi Barkala barricade where they sat on a dharna. According to police the clashes erupted when the protesting health workers tried to jump over the barricade. Mehra and Paul later met the two women employees who recounted their ordeal to the Congress leaders with tears in their eyes. —PTI