The medical team headed to Khanauri where farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal is sitting on fast-unto-death, met with an accident, and sustained injuries after their vehicle was hit by a car on Wednesday, said the officials. The accident took place near Mavikala village.
According to the officials, the team was deputed at the Kahanuri border farmer protest site for the farmer leader.
Dallewal (70) has been sitting on a hunger strike at the Khanauri border point for the past month to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
A team of doctors from 5 Rivers Heart Association NGO, which has also deployed its team of doctors, has described Dallewal's condition as "critical".
Meanwhile, the government doctors team was headed to Khanauri.
A video recorded on a dashcam inside a car behind the SUV, that hit the government medical team's vehicle shows the SUV trying to overtake a truck when it hit their vehicle, coming from the opposite direction.
Senior Medical Officer from Samana Dr Sanjiv Arora, when contacted over the telephone, stated that a team of four specialist doctors from Rajindra Hospital Patiala, one pharmacist, and a driver were injured after their vehicle got hit by an SUV coming from the opposite direction.
He said they were being treated at Rajendra Hospital presently, and luckily no one has any grievous injury and is recovering well.
He further said that presently after the directions of the Supreme Court, the Punjab government, and district administration, Patiala is actively monitoring the situation at the Khanauri border as the hunger strike by Dallewal has entered its 30th day.
Notably, the Punjab government has set up a makeshift hospital nearby at the Khanauri protest site for round-the-clock monitoring of Dallewal's health and provide aid in case of any medical exigency.
The Supreme Court on Friday left it to the Punjab government officials and doctors to decide on the hospitalisation of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite hunger strike.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said it was the responsibility of the Punjab government to look after the health of Dallewal.
It sought reports from Punjab chief secretary and health officials on the medical conditions of Dallewal by January 2 and said the state government could approach the court, if a need arose.
The bench said Dallewal could be moved to the makeshift hospital set up within 700 metre of the protest site at Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana.
The bench said the authorities could continue with their efforts to persuade him to move to the hospital.
Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by the security forces.
Also read: Must fight unitedly to win, says farmer leader Dallewal
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