A day after the illegal drug trial case was busted at the Guru Govind Singh Hospital in Jamnagar,the matter still remains shrouded in mystery. Even as Dr Amul Bhattacharya,the main accused,said the trials were followed in a completely legal manner,the details with the ethical committee of the Jamnagar Civil Hospital reported of no record of any trials over the year. On Friday,the Jamnagar police had registered a complaint against associate professor Dr Amul Bhattacharya,Nurse Aruna Bhatt,and two other unidentified persons for illegal drug trials. Though private drug companies are allowed to perform clinical research at government hospitals,the research is conducted only after initial permission and supervision from the Ethical Committee. The staff members of the G G Hospital and the M P Shah Medical College alleged that the working and the drug trial activities by Dr Bhattacharya were done under secrecy. Dr Vikas Sinha,dean of M P Shah Medical College,who is also a member of the Ethical Committee of the college,said: In the past nine months of my tenure in the college and as a member of Ethical Committee during that period,no record of any drug trial or drug testing in the name of Dr Bhattacharya was registered with the committee. Dr Bhattacharya refused to comment over the allegations,but maintained that all trials were done with prior registration with the Ethical Committee and that the patients were well informed beforehand. As of now,the name of the private company or the particulars of the drug trail remains undisclosed. Dr P D Vithlani,Director of Medical Education,said: Necessary action will be taken after the preliminary report of the inquiry is submitted to the department.
