21 Tata Memorial staffers booked for referring patients to private lab

The case was registered at Bhoiwada police station on Saturday after hospital authorities detected a racket run by a network of peons and ward boys. Unsuspecting patients at the Out Patient Department (OPD) were led to undergo 2D ECHO, X Ray, CT scan, MRI, PET scans and similar tests at the private body, even though the facilities were available at the hospital at discounted rates

MUMBAI: Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) has registered a case against some its employees and representatives of a private laboratory in Parel for allegedly running a racket that involved misleading patients visiting the hospital about its facilities and referring them to the private laboratory. The erring hospital staff earned a commission in the process.

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The case was registered at Bhoiwada police station on Saturday after hospital authorities detected a racket run by a network of peons and ward boys. Unsuspecting patients at the Out Patient Department (OPD) were led to undergo 2D ECHO, X Ray, CT scan, MRI, PET scans and similar tests at the private body, even though the facilities were available at the hospital at discounted rates.

It all started when the hospital’s security officers observed certain members of the staff entering and exiting the premises during duty hours over a protracted period of time. They kept a watch on peon Narayan Chaudhary and ward boy Vikas Gamre. On Saturday when the duo left the hospital in the afternoon, the members of the security department and other officers followed them. The duo walked some distance and took a cab to Ashok Towers, opposite Gandhi Hospital in Parel, and waited at a bus stop nearby.

“After a while, man met them and handed over a packet. The hospital authorities immediately caught all three and brought them to the hospital. On questioning, the outsider revealed his identity as Sanjay Sonawane, who worked as the administrator at Infinity Center, a diagnostic lab, behind Gandhi Hospital,” said a police officer from Bhoiwada police station.

Further probe revealed the complicity of a larger network of hospital staff, who would routinely send patients to the lab for tests; the names of patients were sent through WhatsApp messages. When Gamre and Chaudhary were searched by hospital authorities, they found 24 packets of cash, amounting to ₹3.79 lakh, which was to be split up between 24 ward boys. The names of the ward boys was on a list, which was with the duo. This was their weekly commission.

“The hospital authorities reported the case immediately. We registered the case on the basis of a complaint lodged by Anil Bhosale, the security officer of Tata Memorial Hospital, which specialises in cancer treatment and related research,” said the officer. “The representatives of the laboratory have also been booked in the case.

“We have registered the case under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. We have arrested Vikas Gamre, 51, Narayan Chaudhary, 47, Sanjay Sonawane, 42, Rakesh Pardeshi, 49, Rajesh Bariya, 40, Sandeep Gavkar, 35, Ravi Pardeshi, 54, Rahul Mayawanshi, 36, Jeetendra Bharanwal, 45, Sakir Sayyad, 40, and Dinesh Kalgar, 42, who have been remanded to police custody till July 22 by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate P S Shinde when they were produced before the Dadar court,” added the police officer. All of them are employees of the hospital, except Sonawane.

“They used to inform the patients about malfunctioning equipment at the hospital. The lab charged less than the market rates and gave a commission to the employees,” said advocate Sachin Desai who appeared for majority of the accused.

The director of Tata memorial Hospital, Dr C S Pramesh, said, “The hospital acted against the persons immediately, as they worked against the ethos of compassionate cancer care in the hospital. The concerned employees have been suspended and will be dismissed if the allegations are proven.”