WB: Ophthalmology professor who committed suicide was depressed on being called fraud, says family

KOLKATA: The doctor associated with Diamond Harbour Government Medical College who was found dead inside his flat in Phoolbagan last week was depressed over being called a fraud. This was recently stated by the family of the doctor.

Medical Dialogues Team reported about the unfortunate incident where Dr Sauvik Sama Mal (36) who was serving as the associate professor at the ophthalmology department of Diamond Harbour Government Medical College was found dead inside his flat by his parents who found him unconscious and frothing at the mouth. Soon the police were informed and the investigation revealed that he committed suicide by consuming poison. His family members informed the officials that he was living in depression for the past few days after being accused in a cheating case in Dumka Jharkhand. 

The doctor was accused of siphoning off money which was allotted for the Ayushman Bharat scheme. An FIR was lodged against the doctor by district coordinator Shahid Iqbal of MD India TPA Insurance Private Limited on 23rd June; however, the doctor was not proven to be guilty. 

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According to the recent media reports, Iqbal, in his submission claimed that Mal had withdrawn Rs 4.82 lakh for Bharti Hospital management, where he was serving at that time stating that the money was to be used for bringing compensation to Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries. The doctor allegedly told the bank that the money was meant for patients who had undergone cataract surgeries in March 2019, reports TOI.

The FIR stated that the doctor allegedly conducted fraud and took off money from the bank on the ground of the Ayushman Bharat scheme; however, after the initial investigation, it was found that Mal had performed 78 surgeries at the hospital and all the patients were benefited from the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. The Hospital management provided him with a clean chit after the initial investigation on July 30th last year.

In his letter to SP Dumka Amber Lakda, he claimed that in spite of acquiring the clean chit from the hospital management, the doctor received severe criticism as articles were published branding him to be a fraud in different dailies, In the letter, he also pleaded not guilty and referred to the articles as causing humiliation. After this, the doctor got depressed, informed his family members. Amita Rakshit, MD of the hospital said, "The news of his suicide is shocking. He was a dedicated surgeon who used to conduct 2,000 surgeries a year. He was depressed since the FIR was filed and the false news started doing the rounds. The complaint is motivated and is baseless".