A senior oncologist, who sustained seven stab wounds in an attack by a patient’s son at the Government Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital (KCSSH) in the city on Wednesday, is safe and his condition is normal, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said.

In a video released on Thursday, a cheerful Dr. Balaji Jagannathan was seen taking breakfast while having a conversation with a team of doctors attending to him. He says he is keeping fine.

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After visiting the doctor recovering at the KCSSH, at Guindy, the minister told the media that Dr Balalji would be shifted to a normal ward from the ICU.

On enhancing security at hospitals, he said the tag system would be implemented in a phased manner to the attendants accompanying outpatients at all government hospitals – 36 government medical college hospitals and 35 government district headquarters hospitals.

Further, installing CCTV cameras and bio-metric registration would also be brought in, he added.

The assailant, Vignesh of suburban Perungalathur, who had accompanied his mother, Prema, a patient under treatment for cancer advanced stage, has been remanded to custody with seven stringent sections invoked against him, the minister informed.

Dr Balaji, an associate professor at the KCSSH, was assaulted while was engaged in giving consultation to outpatients at the cancer ward. Vignesh, accompanied by three of his friends waited for his turn and on entering the consultation room bolted it from inside and attacked the doctor with a kitchen knife complaining that his mother was not given proper treatment. Leaving the doctor in a pool of blood, he tried to flee the spot but was chased and thrashed by the hospital staff before handing him to the police. Dr Balaji sustained severe wounds in the head, neck, and chest.

Meanwhile, the protesting doctors withdrew their indefinite strike after the Minister talks with a delegation of Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA). They had embarked on the strike to press for adequate security for doctors and hospitals. The government agreed to enhance security with a police outpost at all government hospitals.