"If I die, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rajdeep Roy and Kaushik Rai will be responsible," Pradip Dutta Roy after testing positive for COVID

Dramatic arrest and an even more dramatic release, Pradip Dutta Roy’s episode continues to pose more questions. The 65-year-old liver-transplant patient has tested positive for COVID19. After conducting a COVID test privately, he has come to know that his CT-Value stands at 28 and he is carrying the infection.

Dutta Roy was released on bail on December 8, 2021. The CJM’s court was opened at night to ensure that the bail procedure is completed. The media fraternity covering the news was shocked to see the hurriedness. Pradip Dutta Roy’s lawyer advocate Soumen Choudhury, his daughter Prothoma Dutta Roy had informed that since it is night, they will complete the bail proceedings in the following morning. But, there was “pressure” from the district administration and so, advocate Choudhury had to run from pillar to post. Believe it or not, Pradip Dutta Roy was released from medical custody at 1:00 am. Dutta Roy himself had said that it is too late and he will go home the next morning that is on December 10. But, the administration kept persisting and eventually, after opening the court at 11:00 PM, the proceedings were done.

Today Pradip Dutta Roy says that it was another conspiracy against him. “Given there were multiple cases in SMCH, on December 6, I requested the treating doctors to get an RT-PCR done. It was done but I did not get the report. I feel they got to know that I tested positive for COVID 19 and that is why they had put pressure on me to get released hurriedly,” said Pradip Dutta Roy.

It is worth mentioning here that his lawyers kept arguing that Pradip Dutta Roy’s life will be at risk if he gets infected by COVID 19. First at CJM’s court and then at the court of District and Session’s Judge. “If I die, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rajdeep Roy, Kaushik Rai will be responsible. They knew about my Liver transplant operation and in fact, Rajdeep Roy came to meet me after my operation. My doctors at Medanta Hospital warned me that COVID can turn out to be fatal for me as I have serious comorbidity,” adds Dutta Roy.

The CJM in his order passed at around 10:00 PM on November 27 directed the administration to provide “special attention” and ensure “total medical care”.  While bail is a rule and jail is an exception, the earlier question was, why a 65-year-old is such a threat to national security and the ongoing investigation that despite undergoing a liver transplant, he had to be sent to jail. Now the question is, who will take responsibility for his health? And the biggest question is, what happened to the test done at Silchar Medical College and Hospital, did the hospital authority conceal the report?