Melbourne, 25 Feb (UNI) Hundreds of residents of a New South Wales rural settlement and the surrounding areas protested against the suspension of registration of Indian doctor Dr Balaji Rao.

The doctor, who was awarded "Order of Australia" in 1998 for service to the community, is under NSW police investigation for the deaths of two patients at Tocumwal hospital. His registration was suspended last week.

The elderly Indian doctor was suspended from his 35-year old practice after NSW Health reported deaths of a 99-year-old woman and a 72-year-old man earlier this month.

The state health regulatory body swiftly referred the deaths to the NSW Homicide Squad's coronial investigation team.

The town residents' held rally, being stirred by the fact that the registration suspension of the town's only doctor has led to the doctor shutting down his private practice which he had established after being barred from the Hospital.

Dr Rao was practicing at the Hospital as a visiting medical officer.

"The suspension has been effected under the medical board's emergency powers under section 66 of the Medical Practice Act, 1992," the medical board had said in its official statement.

NSW Police has formed a coronial investigation team known as Strike Force Canomie to look into the deaths of the elderly patients.

"We are still awaiting the result of the post mortem examinations and are unable to speculate whether our inquiries will be expanded to include any other deaths," a police spokeswoman has said in a statement.

"Detectives have spoken to a number of staff at the hospital and others attached to the hospital and all have been cooperative," she further added.

UNI