Doc suspended 5 months after death

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, September 25

A suspension order by the state Health Department has raised a few eyebrows on its functioning. It has suspended a medical officer, who passed away five months ago!

The department has even fixed Nuh as the headquarters, where suspended doctor Prem Ahalawat has been asked to report. Besides, it has asked the Civil Surgeon’s office at Nuh to frame charges against Dr Ahalawat under Rule 7 of the Haryana Civil Service (Punishment and Appeal) Rules within 15 days.

Dr Ahalawat, who served as a medical officer in the Civil Hospital, Hisar, died on April 22. He was suffering from several ailments.

‘Covid delayed suspension order’

• On January 4, Dr Prem Ahalawat had appeared in a Hisar court as a witness in some case
• The Judge stated: “He appears to be in an inebriated condition. So the Chief Medical Officer is directed to get him medically examined.”
• Subsequently, process to suspend Dr Ahalawat was started
• The suspension order could not be issued then because of Covid and procedural lapses involving two branches, the Health Department said

His suspension order was issued on August 6 by the Additional Chief Secretary (Health). On September 24, the office of the Director General (Health) marked a copy of the order to the Civil Surgeons in Hisar and Nuh.

Director General (Health) Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj admitted to The Tribune that the suspension order was issued by mistake. “It will be withdrawn,” he said.

Dr Kamboj further said the action was initiated against Dr Ahalawat on the instructions of a Hisar court in January, but the suspension order could not be issued then because of the Covid pandemic and procedural lapses involving two branches.

On January 4, Dr Ahalawat had appeared in Hisar court as a witness in some case. District and Sessions Judge Arun Kumar Singhal, in his written orders, had stated: “He appears to be in an inebriated condition. So the Chief Medical Officer is directed to get him medically examined and to report back regarding the consumption of liquor, if any…”

Subsequently, the process to suspend Dr Ahalawat was started.

On September 15, the department also suspended three medical officers — Dr Rajiv Dabla, Dr Poonam Dahiya and Dr Neeraj Khatak — on the charges of submitting a wrong medical report in the court about the condition of Dr Ahalawat.

However, their suspension was revoked three days later following the intervention of the Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS) Association, which termed the suspension order “baseless”.