Second FIR against Abhishek Banerjee in Sebaashray health camp case
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Kolkata: A second FIR has been registered against Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee and several others in connection with the 'Sebaashray' health camp initiative in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, police said on Sunday.
The latest FIR was registered by Bishnupur Police Station based on a complaint filed by local BJP leader Abhijit Das, also known as Bobby. The case has been filed under multiple legal provisions.
Among those named in the FIR are Banerjee's absconding executive assistant Sumit Roy, Trinamool Congress Falta Assembly constituency candidate Jahangir Khan and former Trinamool MLA Dilip Mandal.
Banerjee had launched the Sebaashray initiative to provide free medical treatment to people in his Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency. The programme was later expanded to other parts of the state.
According to the police, a total of 16 complaints have been received against the 'Sebaashray' and 'Sebaashray 2' health camps.
Based on these complaints, Bishnupur Police registered the FIR on Saturday night under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019, and the West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Act, 2017.
Banerjee has been named as the principal accused. The FIR also names Ayan Ghosh Dastidar, Shamim Ahmed, Gautam Adhikari, Mehbabur Gayen, Nabkumar Betal, Baban Ghazi and several organisations. In addition, some unidentified organisers, doctors, healthcare workers and government employees have also been named as accused.
Police are also investigating the source of funds used to organise the health camps.
Among those named in the FIR, Jahangir Khan and Dilip Mandal have already been arrested in separate cases.
According to the police, the FIR identifies Banerjee as the chief organiser of the health camp, stating that he played a key role in planning, managing and implementing the programme in his capacity as a public representative. His role is now under investigation.
The first FIR in the case was registered at Diamond Harbour Police Station on July 2 after complainants alleged that the health camp had been organised without following mandatory rules or obtaining the required permissions.
It has been alleged that approvals were not obtained for the use of medicines and medical equipment, thereby putting public safety at risk.
The complainants further alleged that Banerjee and others were involved in a criminal conspiracy by operating unauthorised medical centres at different locations. They accused them of cheating, fraud, unauthorised delivery of medical services and the illegal use of medicines and diagnostic equipment.
There was no official response from Abhishek Banerjee regarding the latest development.
With IANS inputs