A doctor who had allegedly been sacked from a private clinic for reporting a patient with fever to the district medical officer in Thrissur district of coronavirus-affected Kerala has now been booked by police for creating alarm among people, a charge that invites a maximum jail term of three years.

Based on a complaint filed by the district medical officer, Dr Shinu Syamalan has been charged under IPC Section 505 (1) (b), which deals with any action likely to cause fear or alarm to the public, and Section 120 (o) of the Kerala Police Act for causing a nuisance by writing something.

As Shinu had done what was her duty as a doctor to report a suspected case of coronavirus to the health department, it appeared that she had been booked for making social media posts about the man from Doha, trying to trace him down by tracking his motorbike registration number and cellphone number with the help of a panchayat functionary and approaching the police for information on the patient’s whereabouts.

The private clinic had allegedly sacked the young doctor earlier as it feared a drop in business if a suspected case of coronavirus was reported there. The owner of the clinic has denied terminating the doctor’s services, claiming that she had been asked to go on leave.

Dr Shinu, who had been a full-time employee of Rosh Clinic in Thalikulam, Thrissur, had alerted the district medical officer, Reena, about an Indian expatriate from Doha who had come to her with fever on January 31. The man, who is said to have returned to Doha, left the clinic after allegedly refusing to get admitted to a government hospital to check for coronavirus.

District medical officer Reena said it was inappropriate for a doctor to create a “false alarm” without knowing the travel history of the patient.

“She should have checked the patient’s travel history before creating a hue and cry and posting on Facebook, sending a false alarm to an already tense community,” Reena told The Telegraph on Wednesday.

The medical officer said the patient had arrived from Doha on January 31, when no case of coronavirus had been reported in Qatar.

“She even reported that the patient had travelled to Delhi and Agra. But my contention is that both these places were free of coronavirus when he had travelled,” Reena said. “We doctors should not do anything to alarm the people, especially at a time like this when several cases of coronavirus have been reported in Kerala.”

Dr Shinu stood her ground, saying she had only followed her conscience as a doctor. “Never did I say he was coronavirus positive. I was only directing him to a government hospital, and reporting him to the health authorities after he refused to heed my advice,” she told this correspondent on Wednesday.

Dr Shinu said she would take legal advice.

In a Facebook post at 9.50pm on Tuesday night she had written: “I have been sacked for reporting a patient, who had come to the clinic in a suspicious manner, to the health department and the police.

“I have not disclosed any information about the patient or the clinic. What falsities are there in this for me to stay quiet, as said by the (clinic) owner?…. I did my duty. Will do so again. There is no (action) against officials who allowed the patient to travel to Doha even after I informed them.

“Those officials are working in comfort. But I lost my job. What kind of a place is this? There is nothing wrong in what I did. I will raise my voice again.”