An ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker in Mysuru, Sumayya Firdose, was allegedly attacked by three men, Mehaboob, Khaleel and Zeeshan, when she advised them to wear face masks and follow social distancing guidelines. She was reportedly on rounds at Haleem Nagar in Mysuru on Monday to check for Chinese coronavirus symptoms. Following her complaint, an FIR was filed and the accused were taken into custody. The police is currently investigating the matter.
Sumayya Firdose, who is attached to the Bannimantap government hospital, was on rounds when the three youth abused and threatened her. She said that she asked the men who were loitering around to wear mask and maintain social distancing. Enraged, the youth abused and threatened to kill her if she did not ‘mind her own business. Thankfully, nearby people rushed to her rescue.
Attacks on ASHA workers
ASHA workers, along with other healthcare professionals have been attacked numerous times amid the coronavirus outbreak. In Darbhanga, recently, Bihar DGP’s warnings fell on deaf ears as miscreants from minority community assaulted and misbehaved with ASHA workers. Similar attacks took place on ASHA workers and police personnel in Panchkula, Haryana. In Bengaluru, instructions to assault the ASHA workers who had gone to collect data for coronavirus reportedly came from mosques. Earlier in January, an ASHA worker administering polio vaccine was thrashed in Kerala by a Muslim family after they thought she was collecting data for NRC.
