In a fresh charege directed at the Trinamool Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now claimed that the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several others leaders have been running its Sebaashray camps in violation of medical and legal norms.
BJP leader Abhijit Das, popularly known as Bobby, on Thursday lodged a fresh complaint with Bishnupur police station alleging large-scale irregularities and violations in the conduct of these medical camps.
Besides Banerjee, the complaint reportedly names his close aide Sumit Roy, a local MLA named Ayan Ghosh Dastidar, panchayat representatives and doctors associated with the camps.
The complainant claimed that the camps employed unregistered practitioners, including alleged quacks and homeopathy doctors, to provide modern medical treatment, thereby endangering patients.
Das also alleged that medical equipment, including ultrasound (USG) machines, was used without obtaining the mandatory statutory permissions. Das claimed that prescriptions issued at the camps did not contain essential medical details.
He produced a copy of a prescription that, according to him, mentioned only the patient’s name and age and carried the remark “Referred to Hospital”, without recording any diagnosis or the treating doctor’s registration number.
The BJP leader further alleged that local residents were allegedly pressured into attending the camps to inflate attendance figures and project the programme as a success. He also questioned the quality and expiry status of medicines allegedly distributed at the camps.
A copy of the complaint has also been forwarded to the Superintendent of Police of the Diamond Harbour Police District, seeking a detailed investigation into the allegations.
Describing the programme as a “deception” on the people of Diamond Harbour, Das alleged that the medical camps were conducted in complete disregard of established healthcare regulations.
The complaint comes days after another set of allegations surfaced from a doctor who claimed to have worked at the Sebaashray camps.
Speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, the doctor alleged that although treatment was advertised as free, patients were allegedly directed towards private diagnostic tests such as MRI and CT scans, which are not covered under the state’s Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme.
The doctor further claimed that after such tests were recommended, marketing personnel from private hospitals associated with the camps allegedly persuaded patients to get admitted.
According to the allegations, patients suffering from relatively minor ailments were kept admitted for 10 to 12 days, resulting in higher hospital bills that were reportedly settled through the Swasthya Sathi scheme. The complainant has alleged that the process led to the diversion of public funds through inflated insurance claims.
However, no official agency has so far confirmed these allegations. There has been no immediate response from Abhishek Banerjee or the Trinamool Congress regarding the complaint. Police are yet to announce whether a formal case has been registered or an inquiry initiated into the allegations.