Bhubaneswar: Not all is well with members of the medical fraternity in Odisha. A host of problems, both legal and otherwise, have been plaguing doctors in the state recently.
Among others, these include charges of child trafficking and assault as well as suffering adverse effect of COVID-19 vaccine to falling prey to online fraud.
Here’s a list of some recent incidents involving doctors in Odisha that have made headlines for the wrong reasons.
‘Child Trafficker’
Jagatsinghpur police arrested a doctor and the owner of a clinic on Thursday for allegedly running a child trafficking racket. The accused doctor was allegedly involved in the abortion of minor girls, keeping unclaimed infants and suspected child trafficking.
Also Read: Child Trafficking Charge: On-The-Run Doctor Nabbed After 3 Years From Cuttack
The clinic concerned was also carrying out delivery of unwed mothers and illegal trafficking of those babies after their mothers abandoned them.
COVID Positive After Jab
Three weeks after completing the COVID-19 vaccine schedule, a senior contractual doctor of Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) has reportedly tested positive for the virus.
The 71-year-old doctor took the first shot of the vaccine (Covishield) on January 16 and the booster dose on February 15.
On March 3, he had a cough and was found to be positive for COVID-19 during a rapid antigen test. The RT-PCR test on Thursday evening confirmed his positive status.
Also Read: Rourkela Hosp Doctor Catches Infection After 2 Shots Of COVID-19 Vaccine
Recruitment Blues
In a trouble of another kind, resident and junior doctors as well as house surgeons and the SCB Medical College and Hospital and VIMSAR students’ unions have opposed the Odisha government’s decision to permit doctors from outside the state to join the medical service here.
Recently, the state government has made amendments to the Odisha Medical and Health Services (OMHS) Rules (Method of Recruitment and Condition of Service) 2020, allowing doctors from outside the state to join the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) sanctioned positions.
The agitators complained that the Odisha government is going to recruit medical graduates from outside when a large number of medical students in the state were ready for recruitment.
Also Read: Know Why Odisha Medicos Are Opposing Govt’s New Recruitment Rule
Online Fraud
A doctor in Cuttack was duped of over Rs 77.8 lakh in a period of seven days. He had disclosed his bank details to an unidentified caller, who claimed his BSNL number would be blocked.
According to a police comlaint, the caller had asked the doctor to provide his bank details including CVV number as part of the KYC process to activate his BSNL number.
Between February 9 and 15, total Rs 77,86,727 fraudulent transactions were made from his accounts in SBI branches at Bidanasi and Tulasipur in Cuttack.
Assault On Journalist, Cop
Police have arrested two doctors and six staffers of a private hospital for allegedly assaulting a journalist and an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) in Kendrapada town.
According to sources, the journalist had clicked a picture of the hospital when it was overcrowded with people. When spotted, the two doctors allegedly attacked the journalist and misbehaved with him. Later, six staffers of the hospital also assaulted him.
The accused were arrested after they assaulted an ASI when he tried to intervene.
Caught Taking Bribe
A sub-divisional medical officer (SDMO) was arrested for allegedly accepting Rs 5,500 bribe from the attendant of a patient at Rairakhol subdivision hospital in Odisha’s Sambalpur district.
According to Viligance sources, Sahu had demanded the illegal gratification for conducting an operation on the patient, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital.
