The Rajasthan Medical Council (RMC) has taken strict action against several doctors for malpractice and fraud, revoking the licenses of eight doctors and suspending two others for six months. This decision, announced on Wednesday, follows serious allegations and findings against these medical professionals.
The most notable case involves Dr. Sanjay Dhankhar, a doctor from Jhunjhunu accused of performing a botched surgery that led to the removal of a healthy kidney. Dr. Dhankhar was supposed to remove the patient's right kidney, which had stones, but instead removed the healthy left kidney. The patient's condition worsened, leading to an urgent transfer to another hospital, where the error was discovered. Following this incident, the Rajasthan government immediately canceled the hospital's registration.
Further investigation revealed Dr. Dhankhar had a criminal history, with two prior cases against him under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code in 2015 and 2016. After evading authorities for a week, he was arrested in Rajkot earlier this month. The surgery in question took place on May 15 at a private hospital in Jhunjhunu. An investigation by the state health department confirmed the surgery was an instance of 'medical negligence'.
Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Registrar of RMC, stated that Dr. Dhankhar's case was thoroughly reviewed by the panel, which considered evidence and the health department's investigation report before deciding to cancel his registration. This decision was made during an RMC general body meeting chaired by Dr. Ravi Prakash Mathur, Director of Public Health, with 22 nominated members from medical colleges participating.
In addition to Dr. Dhankhar, the RMC has also canceled the registrations of Dr. Ganpat Singh, Dr. M Sajid, Dr. M Afzal, Dr. Krishna Soni, Dr. Bomma Reddy Hari Krishna, Dr. Jaydeep Singh, and Dr. Baljeet Kaur. The degrees of Dr. Ganpat Singh and Dr. Jaydeep Singh were found to be fake. Furthermore, Dr. Ajay Agarwal and Dr. Suman Agarwal were suspended for six months for their involvement in illegal sex determination practices.
The council discovered that three other doctors at private hospitals were also working with fake degrees, leading to the cancellation of their registrations. During the investigation into Dr. Dhankhar's case, police seized suspicious materials from the hospital, including evidence of document tampering and the unauthorized use of doctor stamps. Dr. Sharma informed the Times of India that the council reviewed a total of 25 cases. The decisions regarding the revocations and suspensions were based on substantial evidence and thorough investigations.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/ Susmita Bhandary/MSM)