Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 5 (ANI): Trinamool Congress chief and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has served a legal notice to three hospitals over the alleged disclosure of her medical records from 2021, seeking an explanation of how the documents reached West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and were subsequently made public.
The legal notice raises questions over the alleged disclosure of confidential medical documents and seeks details regarding the circumstances under which the records were accessed and shared.
“SSKM Hospital Director Dr Manimoy Bandyopadhyay, Medical Superintendent and Vice-Principal of Bangur Institute of Neurosciences Dr Pijush Kumar Roy, and Head of the Department of Neurology at Bangur Institute Dr Atanu Biswas,” the notice addressed.
A copy of the notice was also forwarded to the Principal Secretary of the state Health Department.
Banerjee, in her notice, has questioned whether her consent was obtained before the medical records were disclosed and sought clarification on whether any court order authorised the release of the documents.
The notice also seeks an explanation regarding how the medical records allegedly reached Adhikari and whether the documents subsequently made public were the original medical records.
The legal notice comes amid a fresh political controversy over Banerjee’s injury during the 2021 Assembly election campaign in Nandigram.
Adhikari, who was then a BJP leader and Banerjee’s electoral rival in Nandigram, on Saturday alleged that Banerjee had made false claims about her injury during the campaign and announced that a fresh inquiry would be conducted into what he described as “false propaganda”.
“In 2021, the Chief Minister claimed she had been insulted and her leg broken; however, the report submitted at the time by the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences stated that there was no fracture. The CID is investigating the matter. We will conduct a fresh inquiry into the false propaganda, with details to be announced after the 9th,” Adhikari said.
The controversy dates back to March 2021, when Banerjee suffered injuries while campaigning in Nandigram. She subsequently campaigned in a wheelchair.
Banerjee’s latest legal notice has brought the issue of access to and disclosure of her medical records to the centre of the renewed controversy, even as Adhikari has announced a fresh inquiry into the circumstances surrounding her 2021 injury. (ANI)
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