A surgeon and his family faced ostracism after false rumours spread that he was detected with Covid-19, prompting the Tamluk municipality to issue a circular that said the doctor had no disease and asked people to ignore the “lies”.

Aloke Shee, MS (surgery), had been a general surgeon with the Tamluk District Hospital and had taken voluntary retirement. The 45-year-old doctor is into private practice now.

For over a week, Shee became a victim of rumours that he had tested positive for Covid-19.

“I was harassed for over a week. My maid, driver, and my daughter’s private tutor all stopped coming to our house. I realised the power of fake news,” Shee said on Monday.

“The rumours led to a near social boycott of my family. My private practice and livelihood were also seriously affected,” he added.

Last week, Shee complained in person to Tamluk municipality administrators regarding the rumours and got in touch with the East Midnapore district magistrate’s office. “My phone was ringing off the hook with hundreds of calls a day. People were asking me if I was okay,” the surgeon said, adding that he was compelled to make the complaint when his daughter’s education had begun to be affected.

“She has her ICSE coming up next year,” he added.

The municipality on Monday issued a notice saying according to Indian Council of Medical Research standards, Shee was not showing symptoms and hence did not need a test. The notice asked persons to “ignore the lies” regarding Shee.

District magistrate Partha Ghosh said he had referred the matter to the Tamluk SDO for immediate review. Sources said the municipality on Monday acted on the SDO’s orders.

“The notice was also circulated on social media,” said a source.

“Doctors are our Covid warriors. You cannot treat them this way, Covid or no Covid,” said municipality administrator Rabindranath Sen.