Former CP sacked by Lilavati Hospital after filing complaint against trustees

The trustees rejected the allegations, with Prashant Mehta calling them “totally bogus and motivated”, and said they too had filed a complaint against Param Bir Singh

Mumbai: Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh was on Thursday removed as the executive director of the Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre in Bandra, hours after he filed a criminal complaint against its trustees, including Prashant Mehta and Rajiv Mehta.

Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh was on Thursday removed as the executive director of the Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre in Bandra. (Bhushan Koyande/HT PHOTO)

The trustees rejected the allegations, with Prashant Mehta calling them “totally bogus and motivated”, and said they too had filed a complaint against Singh.

Singh, a retired IPS officer, lodged his complaint at the Bandra police station, flagging certain malpractices in the operations of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT), which runs the top multi-speciality hospital.

The complaint includes allegations of forgery, misappropriation of trust funds, criminal intimidation and other offences, HT has learnt. He also informed the trust’s chairperson, Charu Mehta, about the alleged malpractices via email on February 2.

Sources said he raised concerns about the governance, integrity and conduct of the trust’s affairs, which he claimed affected hospital operations. Singh filed the criminal complaint after the LKMMT Board or Charu Mehta did not act on his concerns, sources added. Charu Mehta is the mother of permanent trustees Rajiv, Rajesh and Prashant Mehta.

“I did what was in the charter of my duties,” Singh told HT. “I have nothing to fear. I will challenge my removal [from the position of executive director] before the appropriate forum.”

Prashant Mehta, a permanent trustee of LKMMT, dismissed Singh’s allegations. “On the contrary, we have filed [a police complaint] against him and Rajesh Mehta for forgery and defalcation.” He alleged that Singh and Rajesh Mehta had forged the minutes of a board meeting. Rajesh Mehta did not respond to calls or messages.

Rajiv Mehta confirmed that Singh had been terminated from the hospital. “His complaint is bogus, unprofound and lacks any legal merit,” he said.

About a year ago, Singh had held two press conferences on behalf of LKMMT, accusing former trustees of embezzling ₹1,250 crore over two decades and resorting to black magic to retain control over the trust.

He had also accused HDFC Bank’s chief executive and managing director, Sashidhar Jagdishan, of accepting bribes worth ₹2.05 crore to facilitate the alleged misappropriation of the trust’s funds. Jagdishan denied the allegations and challenged them in the Bombay High Court.

Singh was appointed executive director of Lilavati Hospital in July 2024. His five-year tenure was cut short by Thursday’s developments.