VIJAYAWADA: The State government has suspended three senior doctors of government medical colleges and teaching hospitals for their alleged involvement in the Srushti Fertility Centre case.
The Hyderabad-based fertility centre is under investigation for committing serious violations, including offences under the Surrogacy Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act.
Hyderabad police had registered case against Dr Vasupalli Ravi, Head of the Department of Anaesthesia at Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Dr P Ushadevi, Associate Professor in the Department of Gynecology, and Dr A Vidyullatha, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Srikakulam Government Medical College, in connection with the scam, and arrested the trio last month. The arrest of trio was revealed on August 28.
In view of the seriousness of the allegations against the trio, Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav ordered their immediate suspension, effective from the date of their arrest. “Allowing them to continue in service would erode public confidence, and could hinder the ongoing probe,” the Health Minister said.
Though there has been a delay in taking action against the three doctors, medical and health authorities revealed that the trio had not been attending duties after the irregularities of the fertility centre surfaced, and repeated attempts by their respective college principals to contact them had failed.