Kundapur government hospital surgeon assaults journalist, suspended

Mangalore Today News Network

Kundapur, Aug 22, 2026: A surgeon at the Kundapur Government Hospital, Dr. Mahendra Kumar Shetty, was accused of assaulting and threatening a journalist, Shrikant Hemmady, at a hotel in Kundapur on Friday. The Department of Health and Family Welfare suspended Dr. Shetty after the police registered a case against him.

Assault

Recently, Mr. Hemmady had reported in a Kannada daily about money being allegedly collected from poor patients for surgeries and other medical services at the Kundapur hospital. Following this, Dr. Shetty posted on Facebook, accusing Mr. Hemmady of publishing a false story. On Friday, a heated exchange took place between Dr. Shetty and Mr. Hemmady at a hotel, where the former assaulted the journalist and threatened his life, the police said. Visuals of the assault were widely circulated on social media.

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