Asansol Medic Gets Four Years Jail Term 15 Years After Taking Rs 400 Bribe

Doctor Sunil Kumar Singh of ECL Central Hospital demanded the bribe for issuing a medical certificate to one Dudhnath Yadav who apprised CBI of it.

Asansol: A few days ago, social media was abuzz with the issue of a couple passionately kissing in Asansol Metro setting the netizens on a sharing spree of the visuals quoting "Kissing in public is a crime in this country, bribery is never" -- lines of the song by famous Bengali singer Nachiketa Chakraborty.

However, a 15-year-old CBI case against a doctor for allegedly accepting a Rs 400 bribe for a medical certificate took everyone aback as the Asansol CBI court finally convicted him with a four-year jail term and a Rs 30,000 fine, failing which he would have to spend another three months behind bars.

Sunil Kumar Singh, the convict, worked at the ECL Centra Hospital when in 2009, one Dudhnath Yadav approached him for a medical certificate. Singh had demanded Rs 400 bribe to issue the same, prompting Yadav to approach the CBI which laid a trap and caught Singh red-handed.

A case followed and Singh was out on bail. But the case dragged on. When the CBI Special Court came up in Asansol, the case was assigned to it. However, the case dragged on for years before the conviction was pronounced.

CBI lawyer Rakesh Kumar said Yadav went to the ECL Central Hospital in Kallat, Asansol for a medical certificate when doctor Singh demanded a bribe of Rs 500. But after a hard bargain, Singh agreed for Rs 400. While accepting it, he was arrested by the CBI. The doctor has the option to challenge the verdict in a higher court which he hinted at.