Senior doctor attached to the Institute for Maternal and Child Health (IMCH) at the Government Medical College, Kozhikode, was suspended recently on bribery charges. But what went viral on social media was a recorded conversation between the doctor and the person who complained against him.
Saravana Kumar, head of one of the units dealing with obstetrics and gynaecology at the IMCH, was taken to task by the Director of Medical Education (DME) for accepting bribe from a patient’s husband, who is a daily-wage labourer. It was alleged that the doctor sought bribe after performing a surgery on the woman. Her husband, a resident of Kozhikode city, subsequently filed a complaint with C. Sreekumar, Superintendent, IMCH.
The recorded conversation occurred when Dr. Saravana Kumar called the complainant, urging him to take back the complaint. The doctor begs him to withdraw the charges and says he is ready to fall at his feet. He goes to the extent of urging the complainant to consider him as a “brother” and do the favour. The complainant, however, is defiant throughout the conversation. “You don’t have any right to fall at my feet,” he says. At a point, he even reminds the doctor about an infamous incident that happened at the medical college hospital in the 80s when a corrupt doctor was garlanded with chappals by activists.
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A preliminary inquiry was conducted by Dr. Sreekumar, K.S. Prabhavathy (Head of the Department of Psychiatry), and Sreedevi Menon (Head of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation). An audio clip of the conversation was attached to the preliminary inquiry report forwarded to the DME. It was reported that Dr. Saravana Kumar gave back the bribe after details of the complaint came to light.