Case against Abhishek Banerjee after woman claims she lost leg at health camp
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has been booked after a woman alleged that she lost a leg following treatment linked to a Sebaashray health camp
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has been booked after a woman alleged that she lost a leg following treatment linked to a Sebaashray health camp, a healthcare outreach initiative launched by him in West Bengal a few months ago. Police said this is the third FIR registered in connection with alleged irregularities in the camps. Amid the controversy, state Health Minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay spoke to the complainant and asked her family to visit Swasthya Bhawan, the health department headquarters in Salt Lake, on Monday for a detailed review of the case, sources said. They said he also asked the family to bring all documents related to her treatment and the alleged negligence. Read Full Story The latest FIR was registered after Prabir Biswas, husband of Malati Biswas of Maheshtala in South 24 Parganas, lodged a complaint with police on July 9.
He alleged that his wife lost her leg because of "medical negligence" at a Sebaashray camp in their area. According to the complaint, Malati Biswas had gone to a camp on February 8 after a former local TMC councillor urged her to do so. She had chronic knee pain caused by osteoarthritis and was prescribed medicines by a medical examiner who, the complaint alleged, did not mention his full name or medical registration number on the prescription. Her husband said she followed the advice, but her condition worsened. The complaint said she then went to a second Sebaashray "model" camp, where doctors allegedly asked for a large sum for treatment. When she refused to pay, she was referred to a government hospital, it alleged.
She was first referred to MR Bangur Hospital and was later admitted to the state-run Calcutta Medical College and Hospital on March 19, where she underwent total knee replacement surgery on April 25. Her husband alleged that after she developed an acute post-operative vascular complication in her right leg, doctors had to perform an above-knee amputation on May 27. An official at Rabindranagar police station confirmed that an FIR had been registered against Banerjee and some others on the basis of the complaint, and said further investigation was under way. BJP leader Abhijit Das of Diamond Harbour, who helped the family file the complaint at Rabindranagar Police Station, said the government was taking the matter seriously.
"The health minister understood the gravity of the complaint and has asked Malati and her family to visit Swasthya Bhavan with relevant papers. He has spoken to her over the phone and collected information about how she was treated," Das said. With three FIRs now linked to alleged irregularities at Sebaashray camps, the police investigation is continuing, while the health department is set to review Malati Biswas's case after meeting her family and examining the treatment records. Ends
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