MLR ‘scam’ surfaces at Rohtak PGIMS
Sunit Dhawan
Rohtak, February 18
A scam in the issuance of medico-legal reports (MLRs) has surfaced at Rohtak PGIMS. Sources said the MLRs issued by the medical officers on duty at the PGIMS Trauma Centre are under the scanner after allegations of the issuance of manipulated MLRs.
“The Deputy Medical Superintendent (DMS), in-charge of the Trauma Centre, has been replaced and all general duty medical officers (GDMOs) posted at the Trauma Centre have been shifted to the Casualty wing. An enquiry committee has been constituted to get to the bottom of the matter”, said the PGIMS Director, Dr SS Lohchab.
Resident doctors of the Department of Forensic Medicine have been deployed at the Trauma Centre, he added.
Prof (Dr) Dr SK Dhatarwal, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at PGIMS, who heads the enquiry committee, admitted that discrepancies have been found in at least 20 of the 100 MLRs examined so far.
The matter came to light after the recent arrest of a GDMO by a team of the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB), allegedly while accepting a bribe of Rs 1.50 lakh for giving a certain opinion in a medico-legal case.
Ajay of Mahendergarh district had lodged a complaint with the police against the GDMO, Dr Imran Khan, maintaining that Mandeep Hooda of Rohtak had assaulted and injured him with a glass bottle at a local bar.
Hooda later lodged a complaint with the SVB, stating that Dr Khan had demanded a bribe for giving the opinion that the injuries caused to Ajay were not grievous or life-threatening. DSP Sumit Kumar of SVB, Rohtak, said Dr Khan was arrested red-handed while accepting the bribe. An FIR had been registered in this regard, he added.
More than 20 cases
Wrongful opinions have been given in more than 20 MLRs. Injuries suffered by patients have been exaggerated or understated to ensure the imposition of less stringent sections of the IPC, which is indicative of ulterior motives. — Dr SK Dhatarwal, dept of forensic medicine, hod
