Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the funds allotted for the state government’s Swasthya Sathi scheme have been misused during the protest movements against rape and murder of the woman postgraduate trainee doctor at R G Kar Hospital on 9 August.

Miss Banerjee while addressing during the question hour at the state legislative Assembly today said that an inquiry has been started against those who have misused the funds under the scheme. The state government would take strong action against them, she said, adding, “You will have to keep in mind that these are public money.”

“You took money without doing your duty. We are investigating the irregularities,” she said.

Miss Banerjee today said there was a surge in expenses under the ‘Swasthya Sathi’ scheme across the state during protests against the rape-murder of the doctor at the RG Kar Hospital. “At that time (during the RG Kar protests), there was a surge in the expenditure under the scheme.

We are conducting an enquiry. The culprits will be punished,” she said at the Assembly.

The chief minister virtually targeted a section of agitating junior doctors of government medical colleges and hospitals who had allegedly attended patients in private healthcare facilities under the state government scheme during the protest movements for more than two months, ignoring their duty at public healthcare services.

Government doctors get a charge for treating patients under the scheme in private hospitals and nursing homes.

The state administration had raised questions, saying, “How did the junior doctors attend patients in private hospitals at a time when they organized cease-work in government healthcare facilities for so many days after the R G Kar Hospital incident?”

A survey revealed that during the junior doctors’ protests there was a significant surge in the state’s spending on patient treatment under the Swasthya Sathi scheme in private hospitals.

Swasthya Sathi is a health insurance programme of the state government for secondary and tertiary care up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family.