The police in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district have arrested four people for allegedly assaulting a doctor after a six-year-old boy, who he was treating for dengue, died, NDTV reported on Wednesday. One of the accused is a relative of the child, while the others were his friends.

The incident took place in Chikkamagaluru’s Tarikere town on Monday. The child had been referred to a hospital in Shivamogga after he developed complications. He died there. Upset by the death, the accused came back to the town and attacked 50-year-old Dr Deepak, according to the news channel.

Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police MH Akshay told the news channel that the accused were arrested within 18 hours. They have been charged with attempt to murder.

Deepak’s condition is serious and he is receiving treatment at a hospital in Shivamogga.

The Karnataka Association Of Resident Doctors on Wednesday wrote to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, demanding that a state-level legal cell be formed to handle cases of assault on health workers, who are battling the coronavirus crisis.

“Doctors across Karnataka are putting their best to bring out best health care facility possible,” the association said.

It added that there had been more than 12 registered cases of assault on frontline workers in the state in the last eight to 10 months. “The unnoticed, unregistered assaults and also incidents of verbal abuse and hampering duties to be discharged by doctors can amount to hundreds,” the association said.

There have been several incidents of assault on frontline workers in India amid the coronavirus crisis.

In one such case on Tuesday, a mob attacked a doctor at a Covid-19 care centre in Assam after a patient died during treatment. The police have arrested 24 suspects so far.

The doctor, identified as Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati, was posted at the centre in Udali locality in Hojai district. A video circulating on social media showed the doctor being beaten up with a metal object. He was hospitalised and is now in a stable condition.

The Indian Medical Association’s Assam unit condemned the incident and called for all doctors in the state to “abstain from Out Patient Services including diagnostic services” on Wednesday. The association called for a swift trial in the case.