INDIA. Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a neurosurgeon of Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi and four others on charges of forcing patients into buying surgical equipment from a particular establishment at exorbitant prices, the CBI said on Thursday,
The offence was registered on Wednesday, and several places in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh locations linked to Manish Rawat, the neurosurgeon, were raided, and the nefarious nexus was busted.
“After investigation, the officers arrested Rawat and his four accomplices, including Deepak Khattar, the proprietor of Kanishka Surgical in New Delhi, and middlemen Avnesh Patel, Manish Sharma, and Kuldeep,” a CBI spokesperson said. The accusations made against them were related to corruption and bribery.
Rawat directed the patients through these middlemen to purchase the instruments required for surgery from the surgical shop of the said proprietor. It was also alleged the accused compelled the patients to pay the amount for those instruments higher than the actual price and used to get a share in the overbilling by the said shop, according to CBI .
The CBI has accused Rawat of conspiring with his accomplices to violate the hospital’s established protocols in order to obtain payment from patients for surgical procedures and medical consultations. The probe also revealed that Rawat instructed his clients to transfer bribes into a middleman’s bank account, ranging in amount from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.15 lakh, as per CBI.
Additionally, the CBI has accused Rawat of siphoning off extra funds made from the sale of expensive surgical equipment, benefiting himself and his accomplices through bribery, and laundering their unjustified earnings through several businesses under the ownership of a private individual.
The accused were to be produced before the Competent Court in Delhi. The reaction of the hospital could not be obtained.
Also Read: Akal Takht Gives Ultimatum to Punjab Police to Release Arrested Youths in 24 Hrs
