One of the two doctors implicated in the scandal surrounding the alteration of blood samples related to the fatal Porsche car crash involving a Pune teenager, who tragically claimed the lives of two IT professionals, allegedly received a substantial sum of Rs 3 lakh from a staffer at the Sassoon General Hospital. This revelation emerged amid investigations into the incident that occurred on May 19, where the minor was brought to the hospital for medical assessments following the tragic accident.
The implicated staffer, identified as Atul Ghatkamble, was promptly apprehended on Monday, shortly after the arrest of Dr. Ajay Taware, the head of the hospital's Forensic Medicine department, and Dr. Shrihari Halnor, the chief medical officer of the state-run facility. All three individuals have been remanded to police custody until May 30.
During interrogation, both Halnor and Ghatkamble, who were subordinates of Taware, reportedly admitted to accepting the illicit funds. The police conducted a thorough search, resulting in the recovery of Rs 2.5 lakh from Halnor and Rs 50,000 from Ghatkamble at their official residences. However, the source of Ghatkamble's funds remains undisclosed.
In a court hearing on Monday, a public prosecutor alleged that the accused abused their authority for financial gain and deliberately tampered with evidence, including blood samples from the juvenile involved in the accident. It was asserted that they replaced the original samples with those of unrelated individuals. The police sought custodial interrogation to facilitate further investigation into these grave allegations.
The arrest of the doctors followed the discovery that the blood samples attributed to the teenage driver had been substituted with those of an individual who had not consumed alcohol. The original sample was reportedly disposed of, prompting suspicion. Subsequent analysis at a different medical facility and DNA testing confirmed the discrepancy, implicating the doctors at Sassoon General Hospital in evidence tampering.
In response to these developments, the Maharashtra government has formed a three-member panel tasked with investigating the matter at Sassoon General Hospital. Medical Education Commissioner Rajiv Nivatkar has instructed Dr. Vinayak Kale, the hospital's Dean, to extend full cooperation to the committee during the inquiry.
