Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Friday cancelled the transfer of a Dehradun-based government doctor and ordered a probe into her allegations that she was “harassed at the behest of” Health Secretary Pankaj Pandey.
Dr Nidhi Uniyal, an associate professor at Government Doon Medical College and Hospital (GDMCH), has alleged that she was transferred after she refused to apologise to the health secretary’s wife, who had resorted to “unpleasant language” demeaning her “profession and conduct”, while undergoing a health check-up Thursday.
The physician further said that she handed in her resignation soon after getting to know of her transfer Thursday, as she “couldn’t have compromised her self-respect”. The resignation letter, whose subject line said that it was “in protest of high-handed behaviour of secretary (health)”, was addressed to Pandey.
The chief minister’s decision to cancel Uniyal’s transfer came after he held a meeting with state Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat.
In a statement issued Friday afternoon, Dhami said: “Dr Nidhi Uniyal’s transfer has been cancelled by the government and a probe is ordered to investigate the allegations levelled by her. The chief secretary of the state has been asked to constitute a high-level committee to investigate the matter.”
Health Secretary Pandey told ThePrint that Dr Uniyal’s was a routine transfer, and there was “no ill will as alleged by her”. He added that now that her transfer had been cancelled, she will have to “prove her allegations” if she chooses not to withdraw her resignation, for which she “will be given ample time”.
ThePrint reached Uniyal for a comment via calls and messages, but did not receive a response by the time of publishing this report.
Also Read: Dhami starts work on Uttarakhand’s own Uniform Civil Code, experts say ‘state well within right’
The allegations
On Friday, a video began doing the rounds on social media where Dr Uniyal narrated an incident that she said took place at Pandey’s official residence the previous day.
“I along with three other staff members had to go to see the health secretary’s wife who was unwell… I visited her residence and examined her duly, but the arrival of the BP (blood pressure) instrument was delayed as it was kept in the car,” she said in the video clip.
“When we reached there, I asked her to lie down on a bed for proper examination and asked my team members to bring the BP instrument… The secretary’s wife looked at us and said with sarcasm, ‘I am looking at you’, in a bad tone. She yelled at me saying, ‘What kind of doctor you are, who is not carrying the BP kit (sic),” the doctor further said.
Dr Uniyal claimed that the health secretary’s wife resorted to “unpleasant words” that “demeaned” her “profession and conduct”, to which she “objected”.
“I could not take her indecency and returned to my OPD work at Doon Medical College and later left for a lecture. On my return from the lecture, I was forced by the administration to say sorry to the secretary’s wife, which I refused to do,” she added.
Later that evening, Dr Uniyal said she was transferred from GDMCH to Soban Singh Jeena Medical College in Almora, adding that she then decided to quit as she “couldn’t have compromised” with her “self-respect”.
“Given this harassment at the behest of the secretary (health), I hereby resign from my post of associate professor with a plea that action must be initiated against the concerned secretary,” the doctor wrote in her resignation letter to Pandey, accessed by ThePrint.
Copies of the letter had been sent to the CM, health minister, and principals of the GDMCH and Soban Singh Jeena Medical College, Almora.
Will have to prove harassment, says health secy
Contacted by ThePrint, Health Secretary Pankaj Pandey said Uniyal was transferred according to National Medical Commission (NMC) norms: “It was a routine transfer as there are vacancies in Almora Medical College. Nevertheless, the chief minister has cancelled her transfer. There was no ill will as alleged by her.”
On the “harassment” allegation levelled by the doctor, Pandey said, “Resignation and transfer are two separate matters. Now that her transfer has been cancelled, there can be two ways for her resignation, either she withdraws it, or sticks with it. If she fails to withdraw, the doctor will have to prove her allegations, and she will be given ample time for the same.”
Asked about Dr Uniyal’s claim that the GDMCH administration forced her to apologise to his wife, Pandey said he did not wish to comment on the same.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: Old ‘favourite’ or new face — BJP mulls Uttarakhand CM dilemma after Dhami’s poll defeat