Parishad briefs on Dr. Sambuddha Dhar’s 5 Crore Defamation Notice; “I was being harassed,” neurosurgeon counters

A Facebook comment has snowballed into a high-stakes legal battle in Silchar, where a neurosurgeon of Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) has served a Rs. 5 crore legal notice to Nebu Roy, a daily wager from Cachar now working in Bengaluru. The case has sparked concern after Roy, who had already issued multiple apologies, allegedly went into panic over repeated demands for apology videos and threats of defamation. The doctor in question, however, refuted the allegations made against him, questioning the use of foul language against him on a public platform.

The matter came to light after the central committee of the Namasudra Parishad of Assam submitted a memorandum to the District Commissioner of Cachar last week against Dr Sambuddha Dhar, seeking intervention. A delegation led by Anup Roy, president of the youth wing of the Parishad, stated that the youth is living in “extreme fear” despite having already admitted to his mistake and apologised.

According to the memorandum, the issue began after the death of Nebu Roy’s maternal aunt, Pratima Roy, a resident of Dholai’s Mahadevpur. She was admitted at SMCH in May with a critical brain condition. Doctors at SMCH, including Dr. Sambuddha Dhar and Dr. Alok Nath, advised the family to take her to a higher centre such as GMCH or NEIGRIHMS for neurosurgery. However, the family alleged that they were told the surgery could also be performed at a local private hospital for Rs. 3 lakh — a claim that Dr Dhar has strongly refuted.

Unable to afford treatment, the impoverished family took Pratima home, where she later died. In an emotional state, Nebu Roy allegedly posted a controversial comment on one of Dr. Dhar’s Facebook posts, calling him “dalal” (middleman) and “kasai” (butcher).

Anup Roy told reporters that soon after, Roy was contacted by people claiming to represent Dr. Dhar, who allegedly pressured him to issue multiple apology letters and videos. “Despite complying, Nebu Roy was later served a legal notice demanding Rs. 5 crore in damages for defamation. He is from a poor Scheduled Caste family, working as a wage earner in Bengaluru. He is now mentally harassed and extremely scared. If anything happens to him or if he takes a wrong step, Dr. Dhar and his team must be held responsible,” said Anup Roy.

Speaking to Barak Bulletin, Dr. Sambuddha Dhar clarified that the patient had been suffering from a Stage 4 brain tumour and was referred outside SMCH twice, but the family did not take her to Guwahati or Meghalaya for treatment. He said the allegation of a Rs. 3 lakh demand was false.

“I had put up a surgery photo on Facebook, where he (Nebu Roy) abused me in the comments. When I confronted him, he repeated the abuse. So I decided to issue a legal notice. After I spoke about the notice, he deleted the comment, but I had kept the screenshot. Then he made a video apologising. But in that video, he did not admit to what he had actually done—he only said he had made ‘a mistake’. I asked him to make a proper video admitting the specific words he used, but he did not do so. That is when I sent him the legal notice through WhatsApp,” said Dr. Dhar.

On the defamation case row, Dr. Dhar said, “Let me clarify: this is only a legal notice, not a defamation case. He has panicked and approached the Namasudra Parishad, claiming harassment. But in reality, I am the one being harassed by his public comments on social media. It was not only I who referred the patient to Guwahati; Dr. Alok Nath also did. The negligence was on their part for not following up. Once a patient is discharged, it is not my duty to monitor what happens afterwards. Now they have gone to the DC’s office with a complaint, when in fact I should have been the one filing a complaint. Instead, I only sent a legal notice”.

Regarding the amount of Rs. 5 crore mentioned, he said, “I cannot say what the magnitude of defamation is—that is for the judge to decide. The comment was made on my Facebook post, where I have over 13,000 followers. People read it, and it has caused me mental harassment. They are talking about his mental health, but what about mine? I was not the one who used foul language first. Still, if they approach me and apologise properly, there is a chance I may not pursue the matter further. But the apology must be genuine.”

Meanwhile, the Namasudra Parishad has appealed to the District Commissioner and announced that they will also approach the SC Board seeking protection for Nebu Roy.