Doctor couple of AHRCC held for anti-cancer medicine fraud

A doctor couple and a proprietor of a pharmaceutical company were on Friday arrested by vigilance sleuths on charges of fraud, police said.

The arrested doctor couple was identified as Surendranath Senapati, head of radiation oncology department and Diptirani Samanta, assistant professor of medical oncology. Both of them work at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre, Cuttack.

The arrested businessman was identified as Sudhansu Das, proprietor of M/s JBSL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals in Cuttack, an official release issued by the vigilance department said.

The department had registered a case against the three following allegations that the doctor couple prescribed JBSL brand anti-cancer drugs to patients covered under Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF) and Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY) schemes of Odisha government in which drugs were supplied to patients free of cost.

The JBSL drugs prescribed by doctor couple from May, 2013 to December, 2015 were less known but cost more compared to same drugs of companies like Ranbaxy, Pfizer, Lupin, Neon, Emcure, Sunpharma, Dabur, Intas and Dr Reddy’s found in the open market.

The anti-cancer drugs marketed by the M/s JBSL had false addresses, the vigilance officials said, adding, the sanctioned funds meant for each patient were exhausted before complete treatment of the patients.

“Both the doctors prescribed JBSL brand of anti-cancer drugs only to favour Das,” they said.

The vigilance department has also registered a case against the couple for possession of assets of Rs 2,95,02,699 disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Vigilance department had carried out raids at six places including at the workplaces of both the doctors to unearth details of their assets.

The couple was sent to jail after their bail petitions were turned down by the special vigilance court in Cuttack.