Kerala: Orthopaedician caught red-handed while accepting bribe for surgery

Thrissur: In a shocking incident, an orthopaedician of a Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) in Thrissur was nabbed by the vigilance wing of Kerala Police on Tuesday red-handed while allegedly accepting Rs 3000 bribe for conducting a surgery. 

A simultaneous raid was conducted at his residence in Ernakulam following which the team discovered cash worth more than Rs 15 lakh, officials said.

An official of Kerala Police's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), which conducted the raids, said the doctor was arrested following a trap operation.

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The 60-year-old doctor was arrested while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000 from the relative of a patient who was allegedly denied timely treatment for her ailment, police said. He was arrested at a private clinic from nearby Ottupara.

The trap operation was planned following a tip-off from the husband of a patient who was under treatment of the doctor. The husband decided to disclose the matter after the doctor postponed the surgery when the family said they could not afford to pay a bribe.

It came to light that the doctor had demanded a bribe from the husband of a woman who had been referred for surgery after an accident. 

Following his arrest, vigilance sleuths carried out a search of Issac's residence in Mulankunnathukavu, near here, and recovered more than Rs 15 lakh in cash, which was "kept in a rash manner" in old envelopes and bags.

The vigilance officials brought a counting machine to count the notes seized from his residence.

Officials said Rs 2,000 currency notes, which were withdrawn from circulation, were also recovered from there.

VACB officials said the cash recovered from his home was suspected to have been amassed through bribes.

The doctor's arrest was recorded, and a vigilance court sent him to judicial remand till July 25, officials added.

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