TIRUNELVELI: A 31-year-old road accident victim alleged that a doctor at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) falsely reported to the police that he was intoxicated at the time of the accident to protect a health department staff member who caused the accident. In a petition to District Collector Dr K P Karthikeyan, G Bala Sundararaj of Murappanadu in Thoothukudi further claimed that the TvMCH administration refused to provide him with his blood test report under the RTI Act.
Speaking to TNIE, Sundararaj alleged that the doctor took advantage of his ‘near-death’ condition to help the health staff, who works at a primary health centre. He further stated that after the TvMCH doctors allegedly failed to treat him properly, he was shifted to a private hospital in Madurai where he remained unconscious for several weeks.
“I am the sole breadwinner of my family. My father passed away 30 years ago. I was a temporary garbage vehicle operator for Thoothukudi corporation. On August 26, 2024, while returning home from a temple around 4.15 pm, I was hit by a car driven by a health department staff member and lost consciousness. The staff admitted me to TvMCH and left the hospital. Since TvMCH doctors told my mother, G Muthulakshmi, that they could not save me, she took me to a private hospital, where we had to spend Rs 17 lakh for my recovery," he claimed.
Sundararaj further stated that instead of taking a complaint from his mother, the Tirunelveli district police registered a case against him by receiving a complaint from the health staff. "When I partially recovered in November, I went to the police station to retrieve my vehicle. However, I was denied it, with the police claiming that I was intoxicated at the time of the accident. I was shocked to hear this as I am a teetotaller. Through an RTI application, I accessed some of my medical records and found that the TvMCH doctor who treated me had inserted the phrase 'breath smells of alcohol' on the left side of the report. When I requested my blood test report for verification under the RTI Act, the TvMCH administration denied it. When I approached Dean Dr C Revathy Balan, she refused to meet me," he added.
When contacted by TNIE, Revathy Balan said she would order an inquiry into the allegations levelled by Sundararaj.
False autopsy report for youth?
It may be noted that in 2023, Dhana Sakthi, a beedi roller from Anaiyappapuram village near Alangulam in Tenkasi district alleged that a doctor falsely mentioned in her son B Aravinth's (24) postmortem report that he had consumed alcohol before his death, despite being a teetotaller. Aravinth was among three labourers who were killed when explosives used for breaking rocks while digging a farm well accidentally detonated in Puthupatti village. Due to the alleged false report, Sakthi was denied compensation, and her repeated petitions to the dean and the Chief Minister's Special Cell for a re-test of her son's viscera were unsuccessful.