Prakash Kamat in Panaji
August 5, 2019.
"OHeraldO",a English newspaper of Goa, on Sunday August 4 published an article under the title CLINICALLY "RESEARCHED" FRAUD, on Sangath, a Goa-based NGO which has been working towards increasing access to mental healthcare for 20 years now.
Obviously, while the newspaper sees newssense in its coverage, the Sangath has protested calling it all "nonsense" and accusing the newspaper of scurrilous journalism and threatened legal recourse.
With a disclaimer that I myself is a member of Sangath, I release here in toto a letter emailed on Monday, August 5, to all members by chairman of Sangath Ashwin Tombat:
(Original article is in public domain and can be accessed on OHeraldO website).
................
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to inform you that in an article (CLINICALLY “RESEARCHED” FRAUD!!!) published on 4 August 2019 in Herald, the reporter Suraj Nandrekar has made scurrilous allegations about Sangath. In the article, which purports to be about the activities of staff from Goa Medical College (GMC), the newspaper has questioned Sangath’s integrity without providing a shred of evidence. The reporter points towards conduct of clinical trials, credibility of research spending, and ‘private’ ownership of Sangath.
We emphasize that none of the allegations made by reporter have a shred of the truth in them and the very fact that the reporter was able to access Sangath’s FCRA accounts is proof of our transparency. As you well know, all our accounts are in the public domain, all our accounts are duly audited and our FCRA returns are properly filed each year, and our donors are highly reputed international institutions and foundations which allocate funds only after a thorough due diligence check of the organisation receiving the funds.
Similarly, we know well that Sangath is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act and is governed by a Managing Committee elected by all of you. Hence, to label Sangath as a ‘private NGO’ of a GMC employee or to say that it is indulging in violations of the FCRA is blatant lies.
Finally, we want to clarify that Sangath has never conducted a drug trial, has never received funding from a pharmaceutical company, and all the costs of our research in partnership with the Government of Goa has been borne by Sangath’s research grants.
All of these facts with supporting evidence would have been made available to the reporter if he had even the slightest degree of honesty to pursue the truth. The Managing Committee of Sangath strongly condemns this kind of gutter journalism which brings disrepute to the news media.
We want to reassure the GB that we are responding vigorously to these false allegations. Sangath will also pursue all legal avenues to clear its reputation and to secure the ends of justice by demanding that the newspaper prominently publishes a clarification or through a criminal defamation lawsuit against the newspaper, the editors, publisher and the reporter under whose by-line this report was filed. We have already started discussions with a reputed lawyer who is advising us on the next steps. As you will see from the front page article on Herald today, the Health Minister has already tried to dissociate Sangath from the issues related to GMC and in a private discussion with Vikram, he has assured us that he does not have any concerns about Sangath’s integrity and we have his full support.
Understandably, all of this must be disturbing to some of you and we would like to allay your concerns by assuring you that none of the allegations are true. We would also like to re-iterate that Sangath’s foundation has been and will remain the integrity of its governance, and we will always do our best to protect it against such attacks by unprincipled parties. If you have any further concerns or queries feel free to write to me or call me.
Regards
Ashwin.
August 5, 2019.
"OHeraldO",a English newspaper of Goa, on Sunday August 4 published an article under the title CLINICALLY "RESEARCHED" FRAUD, on Sangath, a Goa-based NGO which has been working towards increasing access to mental healthcare for 20 years now.
Obviously, while the newspaper sees newssense in its coverage, the Sangath has protested calling it all "nonsense" and accusing the newspaper of scurrilous journalism and threatened legal recourse.
With a disclaimer that I myself is a member of Sangath, I release here in toto a letter emailed on Monday, August 5, to all members by chairman of Sangath Ashwin Tombat:
(Original article is in public domain and can be accessed on OHeraldO website).
................
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to inform you that in an article (CLINICALLY “RESEARCHED” FRAUD!!!) published on 4 August 2019 in Herald, the reporter Suraj Nandrekar has made scurrilous allegations about Sangath. In the article, which purports to be about the activities of staff from Goa Medical College (GMC), the newspaper has questioned Sangath’s integrity without providing a shred of evidence. The reporter points towards conduct of clinical trials, credibility of research spending, and ‘private’ ownership of Sangath.
We emphasize that none of the allegations made by reporter have a shred of the truth in them and the very fact that the reporter was able to access Sangath’s FCRA accounts is proof of our transparency. As you well know, all our accounts are in the public domain, all our accounts are duly audited and our FCRA returns are properly filed each year, and our donors are highly reputed international institutions and foundations which allocate funds only after a thorough due diligence check of the organisation receiving the funds.
Similarly, we know well that Sangath is a registered society under the Societies Registration Act and is governed by a Managing Committee elected by all of you. Hence, to label Sangath as a ‘private NGO’ of a GMC employee or to say that it is indulging in violations of the FCRA is blatant lies.
Finally, we want to clarify that Sangath has never conducted a drug trial, has never received funding from a pharmaceutical company, and all the costs of our research in partnership with the Government of Goa has been borne by Sangath’s research grants.
All of these facts with supporting evidence would have been made available to the reporter if he had even the slightest degree of honesty to pursue the truth. The Managing Committee of Sangath strongly condemns this kind of gutter journalism which brings disrepute to the news media.
We want to reassure the GB that we are responding vigorously to these false allegations. Sangath will also pursue all legal avenues to clear its reputation and to secure the ends of justice by demanding that the newspaper prominently publishes a clarification or through a criminal defamation lawsuit against the newspaper, the editors, publisher and the reporter under whose by-line this report was filed. We have already started discussions with a reputed lawyer who is advising us on the next steps. As you will see from the front page article on Herald today, the Health Minister has already tried to dissociate Sangath from the issues related to GMC and in a private discussion with Vikram, he has assured us that he does not have any concerns about Sangath’s integrity and we have his full support.
Understandably, all of this must be disturbing to some of you and we would like to allay your concerns by assuring you that none of the allegations are true. We would also like to re-iterate that Sangath’s foundation has been and will remain the integrity of its governance, and we will always do our best to protect it against such attacks by unprincipled parties. If you have any further concerns or queries feel free to write to me or call me.
Regards
Ashwin.
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