The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has demanded airport-like three-layered security in hospitals, a day after an ambulance was set on fire by relatives of a Covid-19 victim in Karnatakas Belagavi (or Belgaum) district.

The medical body, in a statement, said,Violence in Civil Hospital, Belgaum following the death of a Covid patient and torching of government ambulances is a new low in our culture. When doctors and the authorities are fighting the epidemic this appears to be an aberration.

Hospital violence has been condoned in our society as a natural phenomenon borne out of sudden bereavement. The tolerance of such an act is leading to a culture heralding dark ages. It defies logic to understand a mind setting fire to an ambulance.

The IMA also said hospitals werevictims of false perceptions and doctors often thesoft targets of violence.We require a comprehensive solution of a powerful deterrent central law, hospitals to be declared as safe zones and provided with three-layered security like airports and solid investment in health with public infrastructure and human resources as the focus, the top medical body said.