IMA Report Clears Silchar Doctors of Allegations; Dr Polok Das and Dr Nobonita Paul to File Defamation Suit

A committee formed by the District Commissioner of Cachar, led by the Joint Directorate of Health of Cachar along with the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Cachar branch, has probed into the false allegations made against two doctors of Silchar. The family of patient Rejia Begum Choudhury made the allegations of medical malpractice on October 26. An FIR demanding stringent actions against the two doctors and a diagnostic centre was submitted at the Sadar Police station in Silchar and after months of investigation, the allegations turned out to be false. The Cachar Branch of the IMA made the report of the probe public through a press conference on December 25, 2024.

It all started on October 2, when the patient visited Dr Polok Das (MD) at Silchar Health Care, a private clinic in Meherpur. When patient Choudhury complained of stomach ache, Dr Das suggested an abdomen ultrasonography to find out the reason. The exam was done by radiologist Dr Nobonita Paul and the report indicated “A solitary calculus of size 13.7mm is noted in GB lumen,” meaning a gallstone. Prompting Dr Das to recommend immediate surgery.

Instead of opting for surgery, the patient went to Chennai for better treatment at Apollo Hospital. Doctors there performed a CT Scan which didn’t show any stone in the abdomen or gallbladder. Agitated by this discovery and relieved that no medical intervention was necessary, Choudhury’s family returned home and filed an FIR against Dr Polok Das, Dr Nobonita Paul and the owners of Silchar Health Care.

After the FIR was filed on October 26, the doctors requested the IMA to look into the matter. IMA went to the District Commissioner of Cachar, who formed the probe committee on October 30 along with the Joint Director of Health Services. A 4 doctor team was formed to investigate the matter. The team conducted the investigation on November 11 at Silchar Medical College and Hospital. The ultrasound of the abdomen was examined again at SMCH which too showed the presence of gallstones, hereby proving Radiologist Dr Nobonita Paul’s report to be accurate.

The committee submitted their final report on December 10 to the District Commissioner of Cachar, which indicated the allegations against Dr Polok Das and Dr Nobonita Paul to be false and proved their innocence.

In a press conference called by the IMA Cachar on Wednesday clarified the reports. Dr Angshuman Bhattacharjee, Secretary of the IMA Cachar Branch said, “There was a media trial where the allegations made against these doctors has got the maximum public sentiment and the notion was made that doctors in Silchar give false reports. Even if there are no stones or other ailments, they operate on healthy patients. The public sentiment was against doctors. There was a radiologist, one state health service doctor and one surgeon was there in the committee. The ultrasound report from SMCH revealed the stone, we were confirmed and accordingly, we submitted the report to the DC Office”.

Dr Polok Das expressing the mental trauma he has been through said, “When I saw the report prepared here and suggested them to consult a surgeon as there was a gallstone, they left my chamber but never contacted me again. The next thing I knew they had filed an FIR against me and their allegations against me were all over the internet. My fame was tarnished. I have built this practice after years of hard work blood and sweat but all was gone just in a few days. I was so traumatised that I couldn’t see patients for days. Even my family was scared of the repercussions”.

Dr Nobonita Paul also seconded Dr Das and said, “The patient had 6 to 7 days when I personally requested them for a repeat ultrasound just to clear their doubts, but they didn’t listen to me. They denied anything I said. Helplessly, I took shelter of the IMA and went to the District Commissioner with my grievance. Now that they are apologising to me after I have pleaded with them for a re-test, how can I forget the mental trauma they have induced? They have made objectionable comments against me on social media and that has affected my family relations. I have built my career after hard work of 10 plus years and built doctor-patient relations for myself which has been shattered”.

The reports made by Dr Paul on October 2, turned out to be the same as the ones prepared by doctors at SMCH.

Mustafizur Rahman Mazumder, one of the owners of Silchar Health Care said, “This is a new clinic that we have opened and we have made no compromise with our equipment for patient care. This has made the most losses for me as people had found it hard to trust this clinic after their allegations which we knew were false. Hence I have to file a defamation case for the loss of my business and the name of this clinic”.

Even after repeated pleas from both the doctors and the owners of Silchar Helth Care for repeated ultrasound sonography, they denied their requests and went on with their FIR. Ultimately for tarnishing their reputation and for the mental trauma, they had to face, Dr Nobonita Das, Dr Polok Das and Mustafizur Rahman Mazumder have decided to file individual defamation cases against the patient party.

Dr Paul also mentioned that, if they let go of this matter easily, doctors in Barak Valley would keep getting targeted for mistakes they didn’t make.