Five arrested in connection with botched angioplasty deaths at Gujarat hospital

PTI, Nov 26, 2024, 7:59 PM IST

Representative image (source: Pexels)

Ahmedabad: Five individuals, including the CEO of a private hospital, have been arrested in connection with the death of two PMJAY beneficiaries following a botched angioplasty procedure at the facility earlier this month.

With the latest arrests, the number of people apprehended so far rose to six, including the visiting cardiologist Dr Prashant Vazirani who conducted angioplasty on victims at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital in Ahmedabad. Dr Vazirani was arrested earlier.

Three other accused, including the hospital chairman Kartik Patel and directors Rajshri Kothari and Dr Sanjay Patolia, are still absconding, a police officer said, adding that Kartik Patel is abroad.

The investigations showed that the hospital organised free check-up camps in villages to convince PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) card holders to undergo angioplasty despite there being no medical necessity, said Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) of Crime Sharad Singhal.

Patients were falsely registered under the “emergency” category to expedite government approval. In return, the hospital claimed payments from the government, he said, adding that the hospital had earned Rs 11 crore under the scheme last year, with 70 per cent of its income coming from such claims.

The five individuals arrested on Tuesday are identified as the hospital CEO Rahul Jain, marketing director Chirag Rajput, marketing executive Milind Patel and his two assistants – Pankil Patel and Pratik Bhatt, said Singhal.

Jain, a qualified CA, was apprehended in Udaipur, while the others were arrested at a farmhouse in Kapadvanj taluka in Gujarat’s Kheda district, where they had been hiding after the police launched an investigation. The farmhouse is owned by Rajput’s friend, the JCP said.

Singhal said the hospital’s marketing executive Milind Patel and his two assistants used to organise free check-up camps on directions of marketing director Chirag Rajput.

“They would convince people to undergo surgery at the hospital under the PMJAY scheme (which is free). They also used to pay commissions to village sarpanchs,” the JCP said.

They falsely registered patients under the “emergency” category on the PMJAY portal to expedite government approval for surgeries, despite there being no medical necessity. After conducting surgeries, the hospital used to claim money from the government, Singhal added.

He said Rajput’s team also allegedly offered commissions to village sarpanchs and rural hospitals for referring patients to Khyati Multispeciality Hospital. Jain, who managed the hospital’s finances, oversaw these operations, including the payment of commissions.

The investigation was triggered by complaints from the families of the two deceased patients, who were among seven individuals who underwent angioplasty on November 11.

The angioplasty procedure resulted in the deaths of two men that same night. The victims were not given proper post-operative care, and no cardiologist was present at the time of their deaths, an official said.

On November 12, the city’s Vastrapur police registered three FIRs over the death of two PMJAY beneficiaries due to botched angioplasty and arrested Dr Vazirani.

Police have registered three FIRs, charging the accused with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. The FIRs accuse the hospital management and doctors of conspiring to obtain financial benefits under the PMJAY scheme.

Angioplasty is a procedure that widens blocked or narrowed coronary arteries to improve blood flow to the heart.

As per the FIRs, these accused “hatched a conspiracy to get undue financial benefit under the PMJAY scheme which led to the death of two persons”.

These seven persons were selected by the hospital after conducting a free check-up camp at a village in Mehsana district.

As per the FIR, angioplasty was performed and stents were placed in the arteries of these two persons even though there was no need for the procedure.

Moreover, these patients were not given proper post-operative treatment and no cardiologist was present when patients died, the FIRs stated.