Amritsar medical college principal caught doing private practice

A Vigilance Bureau team caught Government Medical College, Amritsar, Principal Dr BS Bal, doing private practice at his house here on Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, the eight-member team, led by DSP (Vigilance) Navjot Singh, sent a decoy as a patient to the principal’s residence at Medical Enclave and carried out a raid at 8am. The team found eight patients waiting at the clinic.

The bureau conducted the raid following an input about Dr Bal doing private practice despite being a government doctor. “In a bid to catch him red-handed, we sent the decoy as a patient to his clinic,” the DSP said.

He said a detailed report will be sent to the Vigilance Bureau head office in Chandigarh after which it will be sent to the medical education department. The department will initiate an inquiry.

Dr Bal said the raid was a trap. “It is a trap against me. I have been framed. The man came to my home and asked me to treat him. I just did my job. I will meet Amritsar SSP RK Bakshi on Tuesday as he is out of town and present my case. I have informed my department and presented my case,” he said.

The Vigilance team said that Dr Bal used to refer patients to private labs and used to write prescriptions on a plain paper instead of a letterhead.

The Punjab government banned private practice by government doctors in the state in 2013.