BMCRI doctor replaces Director of Bowring Medical College; Senior doctors cry foul

ALSO READ: Maharashtra Medical College dean served show cause notice for recommending outside COVID medicine

Stating the reason for the new recruitment, the Medical Education Minister, Dr. Sudhakar K made a tweet where he mentioned that a leave of absence in this situation when the whole medical community is fighting against the pandemic is not responsible, hence the government decided to replace him with a suitable substitute. He stated as the doctor "sought to go on long leave, we immediately appointed one of those suggested by him to ensure that the functioning of the institute, a designated COVID hospital, is not affected".

Three senior doctors from Bowring Medical College including the Medical Superintendent G.N. Vijaylakshmi have written to Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar objecting to the process of replacement.

The doctors submitted a letter to Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar stating that according to the institute's bylaws and Cadre and Recruitment (C and R) Rules anyone from outside the institute doesn't have the permission to be appointed to the top post.

The letter was supported by Srinivas Naidu, professor and head of the Department of Physiology, and Meenakshi Parthasarthy, professor and head of the Department of Anatomy, apart from Dr. Vijaylakshmi, the medical superintendent. The doctor suggested that authorities should appoint someone among the senior doctors of the institute.

According to one of the doctors, the former Dean and director himself suggested the name of six of the professors three from Bowring Medical College and two from BMCRI who are potential candidates for the position of Dean and director. Doctors in their letter mentioned: "As BMCRI would have shown Dr. Manoj Kumar as a faculty on rolls at its institute during inspections by the Medical Council of India, it is not possible to show him on the rolls of Bowring Medical Institute again", reports TH.