Warrants for dera’s plastic surgeon

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

A court in Sirsa on Monday issued bailable warrants to a plastic surgeon and an operation theatre technician and summons to three others, including a doctor, of Dera Sacha Sauda’s multi-specialty hospital, in connection with an illegal skin bank.

Judicial Magistrate Navjeet Klair observed that Dr Swapnil Garg, plastic surgeon, and Balbir Singh, operation theatre technician, had not appeared in court though summons issued on October 20 had been served.

The judge issued fresh summons for appearance on January 24, 2019, to Abhijit Bhagat, chairperson of the dera’s hospital, Dr MP Singh, chief medical officer, and Col OP Kashnia, chief operating officer, as summons issued earlier had been received back un-served.

Dr Garg had earlier moved a plea for anticipatory bail in the Sirsa court after summons were served on him, but his plea was rejected on November 29.

After Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction, a team of doctors from the Health Department carried out inspection of the dera’s multi-specialty hospital on September 9 and recovered 29 plastic containers containing preserved skin pieces.

The dera hospital could not produce any certificate of registration or licence to run the skin bank, though they produced an application purportedly submitted to the Sirsa DC and Civil Surgeon, stating that a skin bank had been opened in the hospital.