A 27-year-old pregnant Muslim woman in Kolkata has alleged that she was denied medical treatment by her gynaecologist because of her religion, following the recent terror attack on tourists in Kashmir.
The woman, who is seven months pregnant, filed a complaint on Thursday at the Maheshtala police station and the West Bengal Medical Council. She claimed the doctor, who had been treating her for several months, refused to continue care after learning her full name — Konkona Khatun — and allegedly remarked that she would not treat Muslim patients, citing the attack in Pahalgam.
The doctor, who also resides in the same housing complex in Maheshtala, denied the allegations. She filed a counter-complaint on Friday, accusing the patient of defamation and insisting she never made any religiously charged remarks. “This is an attempt to tarnish my three-decade-long career,” the doctor stated, adding, “I may have been jittery and made some comments to my staff while watching the news on TV, but none was said to the patient.”
The patient’s sister-in-law, Mehfuza Khatun — a lawyer — warned that they would approach the court if the police or the medical council failed to take appropriate action.
The incident has sparked outrage amid heightened communal tensions in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. Instead of questioning the government and uniting against terrorism, people are expressing their opposition towards a particular religion, raising serious concerns over discrimination in critical healthcare services.
