Hysterectomy scam probe faces hurdles
Even as thousands of more cases of illegal and unnecessary uterus-removal surgeries on poor women for fraudulent insurance benefits are surfacing from across Bihar and the Opposition parties are pressing for a CBI probe, efforts for a thorough probe have faced hurdles.
The alleged scam of “fake and needless” hysterectomies — uterus-removal surgeries — in apparent collusion of private hospitals, NGOs and insurance companies under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the national health insurance scheme, in the span of a year is believed to have led to fraudulent claims of insurance benefits of over `20 crore. In many of the 16,000 cases of such surgeries coming to light since last month, the uteruses of poor and largely illiterate women below age 30 were removed without their knowledge. While the state government currently maintains that there is no scam, an influential body of the doctors — the Indian Medical Association (IMA) — has come out in support of doctors at private hospitals facing accusations for the massive irregularities. The IMA’s Bihar chapter said on Saturday that it was impossible to surgically remove the uterus of a woman forcibly or without her knowledge.
“The government must conduct a thorough probe,” said Dr Arun Kumar, president of IMA’s Bihar chapter.
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SC rebukes govt over leak of Radia tapes
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, August 28
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rebuked the Central government over leakage of tapped conversations of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and expressed dissatisfaction with its probe into the matter.
A bench of justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya also took strong exception to the Centre’s failure to put in place a proper mechanism to prevent such leakage in future.
“Those probe reports are hardly satisfactory. The less said the better. Somebody must be made accountable for the leakage,” the bench said after the Centre submitted to it that the leakage has not been done on its part or by its officials.
“There is no reply on how to prevent such leakages in future. In future it will again happen. If you are not able to protect, then why you go for tapping,” the bench observed.
It also said the probe report submitted by the government does not specifically give a clean chit to any department.
Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata had moved the apex court on November 29, 2010 for action against those involved in the leakage of the tapes saying that the leakage amounted to infringement of his fundamental right to life, which includes right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The conversations were recorded by the government as part of surveillance of Radia’s phone, ordered by the Directorate General of Income Tax (Investigation) on a complaint received by the Finance Minister on November 16, 2007 alleging that within a span of nine years, she had built up a business empire worth Rs 300 crore.
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