Charge sheeted PGIMER doctor concedes guilt for making false claims in Research paper

Chandigarh: Dr. Pinaki Dutta, one of the four doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), charge sheeted for research misconduct, by the Director, has conceded to his fault in a reply filed, inform sources.

Dr. Dutta of Endocrinology, PGIMER, along with a colleague Dr. Santosh Kumar of Urology were served ‘unethical practice’ notices for making false claims in their research paper, “Prostatic hyperplasia in acromegaly, a myth or reality: A case-control study” that was published in the European Journal of Endocrinology.

The issue came to light when senior pathologist and one of the co-authors of a paper, Dr Nandita Kakkar complained to the PGI dean about research misconduct and refused to associate with the research study.

Ms. Kakkar had lodged a complaint against a Dr. Dutta’s claim of having examined biopsy samples, which she said had never been done, as no biopsies were ever processed in her laboratory.The PGI ethics Committee which looked into the matter found Dr. Dutta guilty.

Dr Amitava Chakravarti, Head, Pharmacology Department and Dr Rakesh Sehgal, Head, Parasitology Department, are two others who have been charge sheeted recently for research misconduct in separate cases.

PGI, Officiating Director Dr Subhash Varma told HT, “I will comment once the inquiry is complete."

Dr Pinaki Dutta was unavailable for comment, despite repeated attempts at establishing contact.