A doctor was slapped by the relative of a woman, who died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Thursday morning.

The woman died hours after childbirth. According to reports, the woman had delivered a baby by caesarean section on Wednesday.

Both the mother and the child were in stable condition throughout the day. However, the woman’s health deteriorated early on Thursday, following which she died of cardiac arrest.

The doctor, who was trying to explain the situation to the family members of the deceased, was assaulted by a man in the presence of several people and a police personnel.

The family of the deceased woman has claimed that she died of medical negligence and filed a police complaint against the hospital.

The relative, while talking to TV channels, also said that the family would seek legal help. “We will not seek any compensation, but take the legal route… We will also approach the medical council,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) Hospital has put forward its defence in connection to the unfortunate incident.

“This is an unfortunate incident. The doctor, who tried to explain the situation to the family members and also suggested a postmortem, was assaulted. We express our condolences to the family. However, physical violence is unacceptable,” the spokesperson at the hospital was quoted as saying by PTI.

In a CCTV footage, that has gone viral, Tapen Bhattacharya, the husband of the woman, is seen sitting on a sofa while his family members are talking with the staff. He suddenly gets up and lunges towards the doctor and slaps him. The doctor is pushed back onto a chair.

Meanwhile, doctors in Kolkata, not associated with this hospital, have condemned the attack on the gynaecologist.

The latest attack comes less than 6 months after the Centre proposed a legislation that makes assault of medical professionals a criminal offence with imprisonment up to 10 years and fine extending up to Rs 5 lakh.

However, the Home Ministry in December dismissed the need for a separate law to check violence against the fraternity members of a specific profession.

In June last year, scores of doctors across the country including the national capital decided to stop work and strike for a day in protest against attack on a medical intern in West Bengal.

Pariboho Mukherjee, a doctor, suffered serious injuries to his skull when relatives of a 75-year-old patient, Mohammed Shahid, clashed with doctors alleging that the patient died because of negligence.