A senior resident doctor whose name has cropped up for alleged threats to students in government medical colleges was released from Burdwan Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday so he can join Kakdip Subdivisional Hospital.
Birupaksha Biswas had been transferred from Burdwan last year but the college had not issued the release order for his shift, said health department officials. The order came a day after the arrest of former R G Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, known to be close to Biswas.
Ghosh was arrested by CBI on Monday on charges of financial irregularities.
Biswas has been accused of being part of a nexus that manipulated appointments in various important positions in several state-run hospitals.
“...Dr Birupaksha Biswas, SR, Pathology, Burdwan Medical College & Hospital, Purba Bardhaman is hereby released on the afternoon of this day on 03/09/2024 with direction to report himself for duty as SR at Kakdip SDH & MSSH, Diamond Harbour HD in due course,” said the order issued by medical superintendent-cum-vice principal and principal of Burdwan Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday.
A health department official said the order was issued earlier but the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital authorities were not releasing him.
“They formally released him on Tuesday,” said the official.
The order was issued on August 11, 2023.
Contacted by Metro, Biswas said he had been retained in Burdwan possibly because he is a “sincere worker”.
“The authorities possibly felt the need to keep me at Burdwan because of my sincerity at work. Now that they have released me I will join the subdivision hospital at Kakdwip,” Biswas said on Wednesday.
There are allegations of threatening students that their MBBS degree will be withheld and they will face problems in hostels.
“There was a dominant lobby at play that would interfere with transfers and promotions of doctors and this order, which was long overdue, breaks that nexus,” said a junior doctor.
Two members of the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) have written letters to the president of the council asking him to keep in abeyance the participation of those members whose names have appeared in connection with the incident at RG Kar till they emerge “untarnished by the investigating agencies”.
A member, Suman Mukhopadhyay, has written: “To suspend those elected members from all activities of the Council, till such time they emerge untarnished by the investigating agencies.”
Mukhopadhyay has requested the president to suspend the registration of Ghosh as well.
“In an effort to preserve the honour and glory of the West Bengal Medical Council, I request you to keep in abeyance the participation of such members from all activities of the Council, till they are exonerated from such allegations by the law of the land,” said another member of WBMC, Dipanjan Bandyopadhyay, in a letter to the president.
Sudipta Ray, president of the council, said they have decided to keep three members disassociated from all activities of the council for thetime being.
“There are multiple allegations of misconduct in state-run medical colleges against three members associated with the council. One of them is a member of the council and two of them are members of the penal and ethics committee of the council. We have decided not to include them in meetings or any activities of the council till they come out clean,” said Ray.
He also said a council meeting slated for Thursday had been postponed. “The next meeting will be held once the situation normalises,”Ray said.