UP AGAINST QUOTA: Medical students face water cannon during a protest against reservation near the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Thursday. PHOTO: R. V. MOORTHY

NEW DELHI: A large number of resident doctors at medical institutions across the Capital went on a day's mass casual leave on Thursday in protest against the reservation Bill, affecting services at the prestigious All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Maulana Azad Medical College.

Clash with cops

The protesters, including students from various medical colleges besides Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, clashed with the police during a demonstration on Bhagwan Dass Road near the Supreme Court. The police used teargas and water cannons twice to stop the students from crossing the barricade and marching towards the Supreme Court. Five students, including two girls, were injured.

150 students detained

Over 150 students were detained and a case for rioting was registered before all of them were released. The demonstration was organised under the banner of "Youth for Equality". The protest disrupted traffic around the area.

"Our protest was a peaceful one. We just wanted to stand in front of the Supreme Court, holding signs that said `Supreme Court save us'. We wanted to draw the attention of the Court to the Government's latest move seeking to push through the Bill on reservation," said AIIMS Residents' Doctors' Association president Binod Patra.

"To gherao Parliament"

Dr. Patra said that in case the Bill was passed, the medicos would intensify their agitation. "On Friday we will gherao Parliament to ensure that our voice is heard. The Government should understand that we have support from the student community across the country and the movement will spread," he added.

The medicos have also threatened to shut down Casualty and other medical services at hospitals across the Capital in case the Government goes ahead and passes the reservation Bill.

Services hit

With resident doctors staying away from hospitals, essential services, including emergency and Out Patient Departments (OPD) were adversely hit.

Several patients at AIIMS were turned away after having queued up outside the hospital's OPD on Thursday morning. Though the faculty members and senior doctors were called in to take care of the patients, the reduced strength of doctors had its impact.

"We are not turning back anyone in need of urgent medical care," said Dr. Vinod Khaitan, a senior faculty member at AIIMS.

Peaceful demonstration

Joining the agitation, students from the Indian Institute of Management and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, also held a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

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