Ratnagiri medical officer arrested for allegedly accepting Rs 4,500 bribe

Thane: A government medical officer posted at a Sub-District Hospital in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4,500 from a pregnant woman for supplying an abortion pill kit, officials said on Thursday.

The accused has been identified as a 48-year-old medical officer (Class 1) posted at the Sub-District Hospital in Kamathe under Chiplun taluka of Ratnagiri.

According to the PTI report, the complainant woman wished to undergo a medical termination of her pregnancy. When she approached the doctor at the state-run hospital on June 3, he demanded a bribe ranging between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000 to issue the government-allotted medical kit containing the required abortion pills, said Avinash Patil, Deputy Superintendent of Police, ACB (Ratnagiri unit).

Also Read:Anand Hospital orthopaedic surgeon arrested in bribery case

Refusing to pay the alleged bribe, the woman filed a complaint with the ACB.

The anti-graft agency first verified the complaint and laid a trap before catching the doctor red-handed while accepting the marked currency notes of Rs 4,500 from the complainant inside her private four-wheeler, the official said.

The doctor was taken into custody by the officials of the ACB and placed under arrest. A case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Chiplun police station.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in a shocking incident, a contractual orthopaedic surgeon at Gujarat’s Anand General Hospital was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe to perform a surgery that was supposed to be conducted free of cost. According to the news reports, the arrest followed a complaint lodged at the Anand ACB police station by a local resident, who alleged that the doctor had sought money to perform a finger surgery on his friend.

Also Read:Maha: Doctor, staff arrested for bribe in free family planning surgery