Thrissur: Nurses from across Thrissur, under the leadership of United Nurses Association (UNA), staged a protest march from West Fort Hospital to the house of Dr Aloke V R, managing director of Nyle Women's and Children's Speciality Hospital.

They were demanding the arrest of Dr Aloke, who is accused of physical assault on female nurses during a wage-related conciliation meeting held by the Thrissur district labour officer on Thursday afternoon. 

"We demand the arrest of Dr Aloke at the earliest. He's now admitted at the West Fort Hospital; he has falsely alleged that nurses attacked him. The police are yet to register a case against Dr Aloke, who kicked in the belly of a pregnant nurse in front of the district labour office 'with the tacit support of the cash-rich hospital management association'. If he is not arrested, we will widen our protests to the state-level,” senior leader of UNA Jasmin Shah told Onmanorama over the phone.

Shah added that the agitating nurses have decided to request health minister Veena George to take appropriate action against Aloke. “We will also file a complaint with the Kerala SC/ST commission for derogatory remarks against 'a nurse from a backward caste'. As in the past, he misbehaved with nurses in front of the labour officer and made casteist remarks," Shah said. 

Meanwhile, Dr Aloke, in a statement sent to Onmanorama, claimed the allegations raised by UNA and agitating nurses were false and alleged that the entire episode at the labour office was all pre-planned by the association. 

The doctor stated that they terminated six unqualified staffers from the Lab and X-Ray units at the hospital, not a single nursing staff, with all legal due payments provided on Wednesday. However, they approached the labour officer, he said, and the discussion went awry after some time; so he requested the labour officer to relieve them of the discussion. Then the UNA members closed the door and blocked Dr Aloke and his wife Jitha from leaving the meeting hall, as per his version of events. 

In between, the agitators hit him on the chest, scratched his face and hands, he claimed, before the duo somehow managed to run for their life as there were around 30 people gathered in support of UNA.