A BJP leader on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the police against TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several others, alleging large-scale irregularities in the conduct of the 'Sebashray' medical outreach programme in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district.

The complaint was filed at Bishnupur Police Station by BJP leader Abhijit Das, popularly known as Bobby, who accused the organisers of violating medical norms, engaging unqualified practitioners, misusing diagnostic equipment and artificially inflating attendance at the camps.

The claims made by the BJP leader could not be independently verified by PTI.

According to Das, the complaint names Banerjee, his close aide Sumit Roy, Ayan Ghosh Dastidar, local elected representatives and doctors associated with the programme.

Talking to reporters, Das alleged that "quacks and homoeopathy practitioners" were engaged to provide allopathic treatment at some of the camps.

He claimed that several prescriptions, issued during the programme, lacked basic details such as diagnosis and registration numbers of the attending doctors.

Showing a copy of one such prescription, Das alleged that while the patient's name and age were mentioned, there was no description of the ailment, and the document merely stated: "referred to hospital".

The BJP leader also alleged that diagnostic equipment, including ultrasonography machines, were used without obtaining mandatory permissions under applicable regulations.

He also claimed that local residents were allegedly pressured to attend the camps to boost footfall and project the initiative as a success.

Questions have also been raised in the complaint over the quality and expiry status of medicines distributed during the programme, Das said.

A copy of the complaint has also been sent to the superintendent of police of Diamond Harbour Police District, he added.

The allegations come amid a political controversy surrounding the 'Sebashray' initiative, a flagship healthcare outreach programme associated with Banerjee in the Diamond Harbour region. The programme was started by the Diamond Harbour MP in 2022.

Das alleged that patients were referred for costly diagnostic tests such as MRI and CT scans, which are not covered under the state's Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme.

There was no immediate response from Banerjee or the TMC on the allegations.