A fresh police complaint has been filed against Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and 10 others in connection with the Sebaashray free health camp initiative, after a resident of Maheshtala in South 24 Parganas district alleged that faulty treatment at the camp led to the amputation of her right limb. The complaint, lodged at Rabindranagar Police Station under the Diamond Harbour Police district, marks the 17th such grievance registered against Sebaashray since the change of government in West Bengal.

What the Complainant Alleged

Malati Biswas, a resident of the Maheshtala area falling under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, told police she had initially visited the Sebaashray camp with a complaint of knee pain. The doctor at the camp prescribed her medicines, but her condition reportedly worsened rather than improved.

Biswas returned to the camp, only to be referred to MR Bangur Hospital on the southern outskirts of Kolkata. Doctors there, according to the complaint, told her the deterioration was caused by wrong medicines. She was subsequently referred to National Medical College and Hospital at Park Circus in central Kolkata. By that point, her condition had deteriorated to the point where her right limb had to be amputated, according to the complaint.

Biswas allegedly sought an explanation from Sebaashray authorities and made repeated attempts to contact Abhishek Banerjee directly, but received no response from either, as per the complaint.

Scale of Complaints Against Sebaashray

The Sebaashray initiative was launched by Abhishek Banerjee — a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Diamond Harbour and nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — as a community healthcare outreach programme. Since the change of regime in the state, a total of 17 complaints have been registered against the initiative. Police have already filed two separate FIRs and initiated investigation.

The complaints span a range of alleged irregularities: medical negligence, wrong lines of treatment, operating camps without authorisation from the state health department, allegedly hiring unqualified doctors, and the alleged distribution of expired medicines.

BJP's Allegations and Additional Concerns

Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Abhijit Das, also known as Bobby, recently surfaced a prescription from one of the Sebaashray camps in which the prescribing doctor's medical registration number was reportedly absent — a mandatory requirement under medical practice norms.

Das also claimed that ultrasonography machines were used at the health camps without proper authorisation, adding another dimension to the regulatory concerns already surrounding the initiative.

What Happens Next

With two FIRs already registered and police investigation underway, the Sebaashray case is emerging as a significant political and legal flashpoint in post-election West Bengal. The allegations, if substantiated, could have implications for how community health outreach programmes are regulated and monitored across the state. No response from Abhishek Banerjee or TMC on the latest complaint had been reported at the time of filing.