Mamata 2021 injury row: Ex-CM’s lawyer sends notice to hospitals over medical record ‘disclosure’ | India News
NEW DELHI: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee‘s lawyer on Monday sent a legal notice to state-run SSKM Hospital and the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences over the alleged disclosure of her medical records from 2021 without the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo’s permission, PTI reported.The development came two days after West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari alleged at a press conference in Kolkata that Mamata Banerjee had “faked” her leg injury during the 2021 state assembly elections, which the TMC eventually won.Also Read | ‘No evidence of fracture’: Bengal govt to probe Mamata Banerjee’s 2021 ‘injury’Adhikari, a former Trinamool leader who joined the BJP in December 2020, displayed a document that he claimed was the March 11, 2021, report of the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences’ Department of Radio Diagnosis. He said the report showed “no evidence of a fracture.”Adhikari also announced that the state government would launch a fresh inquiry into what he described as Banerjee’s “false claims” about her leg injury during the 2021 assembly election campaign.Following this, Mamata Banerjee’s lawyer, Arka Nag, sent the notice to the director and medical superintendent of SSKM Hospital and the head of the neurology department at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences.He sought an explanation as to how his client’s medical records reached Adhikari and were subsequently made public. A copy of the notice was also sent to the principal secretary of the state health department.The notice referred to statements made by the chief minister on October 3 and argued that even if the medical records had been obtained by the state government or an investigating agency through a lawful process, that did not by itself authorise their disclosure to the public.It also sought to know whether the reports were disclosed pursuant to any court order and, if not, what action had been taken against those who provided the documents. The notice further sought clarification on whether the reports made public were the original medical records.
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The issue dates back to the 2021 West Bengal assembly election, when Mamata Banerjee, then chief minister and the TMC candidate from Nandigram, sustained injuries near Birulia Bazar while campaigning.She subsequently campaigned from a wheelchair, and the nature and extent of her injuries became a major political issue during the election.After the TMC returned to power, Mamata Banerjee, who at the time secure a third successive term as chief minister, was seen walking.
