Ballia , A day after the Bansdih Community Health Centre superintendent, who was arrested on graft charge, died in Varanasi district jail, doctors on Tuesday suspended outpatient services across government-run health centres in Ballia district.
The Provincial Medical Services Association , which is leading the protest, has demanded a CBI inquiry, alleging foul play in the matter.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Sanjeev Varman told reporters on Tuesday that Dr Venkatesh Maur, who was arrested last Thursday, died in Varanasi district jail on Monday.
A team from the Vigilance Establishment had caught him red-handed accepting ₹20,000 as a bribe from an operator of the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendra , a generic medicine pharmacy situated within the Bansdih CHC premises.
According to the complaint, the operator, Ajay Tiwari, alleged that the doctor demanded the bribe to allow him to operate the store smoothly from the CHC building.
The pharmacy was registered under the local entity Amrit Pharmacy and functioned inside a designated space at the Bansdih health facility.
Following the doctor’s death, there has been widespread anger among medical officers in the district. Senior officials from the PMSA and the CMO visited the health centre on Tuesday and expressed condolences. As a mark of protest, OPD services at all government health centres were suspended for the day.
Dr Santosh Kumar Chaudhary, district president of the PMSA, termed the death a “pre-planned murder” and demanded a CBI probe.
“He was perfectly healthy before being taken into custody. His death in judicial custody raises serious questions. He appears to have been falsely implicated,” Dr. Chaudhary said.
He warned that if no action is taken within three days, all health services, except emergency and post-mortem, will be suspended across the district.
Dr Varman acknowledged the doctors’ anger and confirmed the suspension of OPD services in protest of the incident.
Meanwhile, retired IPS officer and Azad Adhikar Sena national president Amitabh Thakur has also demanded an inquiry.
In a complaint to the chief secretary and Uttar Pradesh DGP, he alleged that Dr Maur was subjected to inhuman treatment and extortion by jail officials.
Citing information from people close to the deceased doctor, Thakur claimed that “the abuse severely affected his health, which was then neglected”.
Based on his own experience during his time in Lucknow jail, Thakur said that the accusations by the family seemed credible. He has demanded a thorough investigation into the role of Varanasi jail authorities in Dr Maur’s death.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.