Doctors unite

members of the kolkata chapter of indian medical association are angry over the recent charge of rape brought against a city gynaecologist. though the ima feels it cannot take an official stance before the police investigations are over, it vehemently opposes the practice of arresting a doctor on the basis of an fir. we demand a protocol that would be in place in case an fir is filed against any doctor.kerala has already implemented such a protocol where in the case of an fir filed against any doctor, a senior police officer not lower than the rank of a deputy commissioner or superintendent of police will have to go to the spot and judge the merit of the case. if he finds enough evidence and thinks the complaint has some merit, he can then arrest the doctor. doctors cannot be arrested just like that by two constables," said r.d. dubey, secretary, ima kolkata. dubey said that this had been a long standing demand by the doctors in west bengal. we do not want to protect a guilty doctor but at the same time, he should not be punished for no fault of his by being in police custody for three to four months till proven innocent. in such cases, the loss of reputation and social status for the concerned doctor becomes irreparable. if mukherjee is proven innocent in this case, who would compensate the loss that he has already suffered to his reputation and practice? dr dubey asked. dr manish pradhan, the doctor investigating the case on behalf of the ima, claimed, he is not only one of the senior most doctors in the city but also a very reputed personality. moreover, his wife, a doctor was present in the house when the alleged incident took place. doctors also fail to understand why a doctor of such repute and a clean past as far as service records are concerned, would commit such a crime. he spent 30 years at chittaranjan national medical college and hospital and his service record is impeccable, pradhan said. pradhan is also amazed at how the rape 'victim' left the doctor's chamber without a murmur and informed the police and media before accosting the accused party. the fir mentions that her husband was in the same room but he did not see or hear anything, dubey said. in the state council meeting of ima, we have decided to form a team, led by dr asim sarkar who also lives near mukherjee's chamber, to look into the matter," said dr tarun mondol of medical services centre, a voluntary organisation of doctors in the city. the state government refuses to accede to our demands that a senior police officer be allowed to look into the matter before the arrest is made, he said. a former president of ima, kolkata, clearly feels that it is a frame up. dr mukherjee was asked to attend a house call at shyamnagar, a day before the incident took place. he refused due to his age and the distance. this could be a possible reason as to why the charges were levelled against the doctor. we would also like to know how the television channels got to know of the news so fast. it was intentionally done to malign mukherjee, he said. throughout his life, mukherjee has held various responsible positions. he was a member of the ima executive committee and acted in television serials. he maintained high social standards. it is very difficult to believe that he could have done something of this nature, said dubey. dubey claimed that the scales are tilted against doctors in the state. a few months ago, two doctors were arrested from a howrah nursing home, on charges of negligence after a patient died of renal failure after blood transfusion. they are still in police custody though they have not been proven guilty. even if they join their profession after proving their innocence in court, the damage has already been done to their careers, he said. dubey added that a similar charge was brought against a doctor at woodlands but. the patient party finally withdrew the charges, after they realised that it would be difficult to prove, he said.