Ophthalmologist Of District Headquarters Hospital Arrested On Bribery Charges

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Vigilance sleuths on Monday arrested ophthalmologist of Sonepur district headquarters hospital (DHH) Dr Sanjib Kumar Kar on charges of accepting Rs 5,500 as bribe.

According to a Vigilance release, the ophthalmologist had demanded the illegal gratification from the complainant for conducting cataract surgery, which is done for free in government health facilities, of his uncle. “The complainant, being a poor man, requested Dr Kar several times to do the cataract surgery of his uncle, an octogenarian, but the latter insisted on being paid a bribe for it. Following which, the complainant informed the Vigilance Authority about the matter.”

The entire bribe money was recovered from the accused and seized, it said.

Another Rs 2.06 lakh was seized during simultaneous searches on his residence at Balangir town and government quarters inside DHH campus and his clinic at Kalapathar, n Sonepur. “He could not give account of the cash seized satisfactorily, following which, he was arrested,” it said.

A case has been registered against Dr Kar under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment ) Act, 2018, and further investigation is on, the release added.