PMJAY racket: DCB files 5,670-page chargesheet against eight accused

The victims, Mahesh Girdhar Barot (52) and Nagar Moti Senma (75), mislaid their lives connected November 11, 2024, aft undergoing what the wellness department’s adept committee called “completely unnecessary” angioplasty surgeries.

While the 3 FIRs against the 9 accused successful this lawsuit were filed astatine Vastrapur constabulary presumption successful Ahmedabad wherever the infirmary is located, the probe was transferred to the Crime Branch connected November 18, 2024.

The Crime Branch Friday said it had filed the chargesheet successful the lawsuit connected behalf of the State, against 8 of the 9 accused successful the cases wherever the astir superior charges are that of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The chargesheet was filed earlier the Fourth Additional Civil and Judicial First Class Magistrate successful the Ahmedabad Rural Court. This chargesheet lists the alleged offences of each accused but Kartik Jasu Patel, Chairman of Ahmedabad Bariatrics and Cosmetics Pvt Ltd, the holding institution of Khyati hospital. This is due to the fact that Patel was the past accused to beryllium arrested, connected January 18, 2025, which was 66 days aft the cases were filed against him.

The Crime Branch said that the probe against Patel is inactive underway and that a supplementary chargesheet volition beryllium filed against him later.

The officials said that 105 radical had been questioned successful this lawsuit and the statements of 7 witnesses had been recorded nether Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

On worldly evidence, the DCB officials said that during investigation, it took connected grounds 19 pieces of physics evidence, 36 files and 11 registers from the hospital.

The complaint expanse besides mentions details of documents of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the PMJAY, documents from the Bajaj Allianz which is the insurer contracted by the authorities authorities nether the scheme, documents from the adept aesculapian committee who investigated the case, and audit reports of the hospital.

The DCB besides obtained and enactment connected grounds details of the holding institution of Khyati infirmary from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), details of 34 slope accounts, details of the properties owned by the accused, aesculapian records of the patients who were aboriginal treated astatine UNMICRC and aesculapian past forms of a full of 37 patients treated astatine Khyati hospital.

The 3 lawsuit conundrum

Of the 3 FIRs, 1 was filed connected behalf of the State by a subordinate of the aesculapian adept committee portion 2 others were filed based connected the complaints from the families of the deceased.

The chargesheet filed connected Friday pertained to the 1 filed connected behalf of the State and includes charges of defrauding the authorities exchequer by forgery of aesculapian records. However, officials told The Indian Express that nary determination has yet been taken connected whether abstracted chargesheets volition beryllium filed successful the different 2 cases oregon each 3 cases volition beryllium merged. This has remained the azygous unanswered question of this full lawsuit since Day 1.

Further, the 17 survivors of surgeries person repeatedly sought the filing of further FIRs against the accused based connected their complaints and alleged harm caused to them by the hospital.

They had adjacent approached the Gujarat HC for the same. The constabulary are yet to instrumentality immoderate enactment implicit their demand.
The 9 accused

Kartik Patel was the past of the accused to beryllium arrested connected January 18, 2025. Before him, infirmary Director Rajshree Pradeep Kothari was arrested from Rajasthan connected December 14, 2024; portion Director Dr Sanjay Mulji Patolia was arrested connected December 4, 2024 from Ahmedabad.

On November 26, 2024, the Crime Branch arrested Director Chirag Rajput and 3 members of the selling squad of the hospital, including Milind Patel, Pratik Bhatt and Pankil Patel from a farmhouse successful Kheda territory portion CEO Rahul Jain was arrested from Rajasthan by different team.

The archetypal apprehension successful the lawsuit was the visiting cardiologist, Dr Prashant Prakash Vazirani, who performed the surgeries. He was arrested connected November 13, 2024, hours aft the 3 FIRs were filed.

The chargesheeted case

In the lawsuit filed connected behalf of the State, each 9 accused were booked nether Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to perpetrate culpable homicide), 336(2) (forgery), 336(3) (forgery with volition to usage it to cheat someone), 318 (cheating), 340(2) (knowingly utilizing forged documents arsenic genuine) and 61 (criminal conspiracy). The FIR states that portion the infirmary reports had shown that Mahesh Barot had 80% blockage successful his mid near circumflex artery, the angiography CD showed nary blockage astatine all. Further, against the hospital’s assertion of 90% blockage successful Barot’s mid close circumflex artery, the angiography showed lone a 30-40% blockage. In lawsuit of the 2nd deceased, Nagar Senma, the FIR stated that portion infirmary records showed a 90% blockage successful the proximal and mid segments of the near anterior descending (LAD) artery, the angiography CD showed 80% blockage successful the mid conception and 50% blockage successful the proximal section. Further, against the hospital’s assertion of 90% blockage successful the close coronary artery, the angiography CD was impervious that determination was nary blockage astatine all.

The FIR alleged that the infirmary and its authorities had besides not taken consent to execute either angiography oregon angioplasty connected the patients and had been negligent successful the station operative attraction of these patients. It further alleged that the surgeries were carried retired to perpetrate fraud nether the PMJAY strategy to marque illicit fiscal gains.