PMJAY-SEHAT Allegations Raise Hard Questions For The State
The suspension of Dr Syed Maqbool Ahmad Shah, Associate Professor of Cardiology at GMC Anantnag, under allegations of grave procedural fraud and financial impropriety in the PMJAY-SEHAT scheme, has sent shockwaves far beyond the corridors of a single hospital. It strikes at the heart of what little trust poor patients still repose in a system that claims to offer “free” healthcare but too often delivers anxiety, humiliation, and opaque decision-making. The departmental memorandum is chilling in its detail. It alleges that cross-checking online TMS claims with the Cath Lab register shows a pattern: Left Bundle Branch Area Pacing (LBBAP) performed, while funds were claimed for a Dual Chamber Pacemaker. Experts at SKIMS Soura reportedly found that nearly half the audited patients had normal left ventricular function and wide QRS morphology, a clinical profile that, on the face of it, does not warrant such a highly specialised intervention. If these allegations stand scrutiny, they would amount to more than mere technical lapses. They would represent a conscious abuse of public money and a cruel betrayal of patients who are legally entitled to free care under PMJAY-SEHAT. The memorandum’s claims of false logging, bypassing government supply chains, and extorting money from the poorest of the poor cannot be brushed aside as routine bureaucratic prose. They demand answers; fast, full, and from the very top of the health system. Yet, a memorandum is not a verdict. Dr Maqbool has categorically rejected the accusations as “fabricated”, insisting that the media narrative is divorced from the actual record and that a detailed rebuttal, backed by documents, has already been submitted. Health activist voices, too, have reminded us of a basic principle: allegation is not guilt, and due process is not a luxury but a constitutional obligation. The government cannot, therefore, hide behind stock phrases about an “ongoing inquiry”. Health Minister Sakeena Itoo has promised action “whoever is found guilty”. That promise will ring hollow unless the inquiry is independent, time-bound, transparently conducted, and its findings made public. The people have the right to know whether this is a case of systemic fraud, a targeted witch-hunt, or a deeper rot that implicates more than one individual. At stake is more than the reputation of one cardiologist or one medical college. At stake is the credibility of PMJAY-SEHAT in Jammu and Kashmir. If the poor begin to believe that even a flagship health scheme is a marketplace for exploitation, the damage will be irreparable. Justice must not only prevail; it must be seen to prevail. That means protecting patients from predators, but also protecting professionals from trial by leak and innuendo. Nothing less will restore faith in a system that claims to heal, but too often ends up hurting the very people it is meant to serve.
