Hyderabad: Bribery case against Nims doctor dropped

Hyderabad: The case against Dr D. Seshagiri Rao, head of cardiology at Nizam’s Institute of Medicine (NIMS) has been closed in 2017. The doctor was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 1.6 lakh from a stent supplier who worked for former Nizamabad Member of Parliament G. Atma Charan Reddy, in 2013 .

The ACB recovered the bribe amount from his office and arrested him. A case was registered against Dr Rao under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Subsequently, he was suspended by NIMS. 

The ACB submitted a final report in 2015 and sought permission to prosecute the doctor. The Health Medical and Family Welfare department, however, issued orders vide memo No. 1860/VC.1/2013-3 to drop further action in the case. The ACB then filed an application before a special court for closure of ‘First Information Received’ (FIR) in 2016.

In September 2017,  an RTI (right to information) was filed by the Forum for Good Governance with the health medical and family welfare department questioning why the case was closed despite concrete evidence of the officer being caught in the act of committing a crime and booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

This was the response to the RTI: “Dr Rao has raised objection not to provide personal information which will not come under the RTI.” Mr Padmanabha Reddy of the Forum for Good Governance says the order of the government directing the ACB to drop further action “sends wrong signals to government employees. An impression is created that a trap case can be manipulated in the secretariat.”