Fake Organ Transplant NOC Case: RUHS Vice Chancellor Dr Sudhir Bhandari resigns

Jaipur: In a significant development regarding the fake No Objection Certificate (NOC) case involving organ transplants, Dr Sudhir Bhandari, vice-chancellor of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) resigned from his position voluntarily on Thursday. 

According to a Raj Bhavan spokesperson, Governor Kalraj Mishra accepted his resignation with immediate effect after Dr Bhandari met him at Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation letter.

This comes after the committee probing the case submitted a report and recommended Raj Bhavan to remove Dr Bhandari from his position as Rajasthan University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor.

Also read- Fake Organ Transplant NOC Case: Principal, Medical Superintendent Of SMS Medical College Resigns

Medical dialogues team recently reported that Dr Bhandari was issued a show cause notice by the committee headed by medical education commissioner Iqbal Khan asking about the specific details of his time at Sawai Man Singh Medical College, requesting information on the state-level authorisation committee for organ donation meetings, decisions made during these meetings, and NOCs issued. They also sought clarification on how he managed correspondence as SOTTO chairman following his retirement as principal of SMS Medical College. 

After his name got involved in the fake NOC case, Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar previously demanded his resignation as the vice chancellor and cautioned that he could face implications in the case if he chose not to step down as reported by TOI. 

In the wake of the case, the state government few days ago removed Dr Sudhir Bhandari as the chairman of the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO)  which was reported by Medical Dialogues team. Two more doctors- Dr Rajeev Bagarhatta, principal of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College, and Dr Achal Sharma, superintendent, of SMS Hospital have also tendered their resignation from their posts on Monday. 

As per the Daily news report, Before the news regarding Dr Bhandari submitting his resignation broke out, Minister Khinvsar told newspapers at the health directorate, “I am saying it with confidence. We have sufficient documents against him, and he has to resign. It is a serious matter which was continuing since 2020." 

He pointed out that the detailed investigation is continuing and it is yet to be completed as the committee investigating the matter is taking details minutely. But, he has documents based on which he was demanding the resignation of Bhandari.

“We have removed him from the post of chairperson of steering committee of State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation. But, the state government has no powers to remove him from the post of RUHS V-C. We are demanding his resignation. In this connection, I will meet governor requesting him to take his resignation as governor has the powers for it. No register of NoC issued was maintained at the SMS Medical College. There is no record available of NoCs issued.” he added.

The charge of the Vice Chancellor of RUHS has been handed over to Dr Dhananjay Agarwal. Aggarwal is a senior professor of the Department of Nephrology at Sawai Mansingh Medical College, Jaipur. He will serve as the additional charge of VC temporarily until a regular VC is appointed or until further orders, reports news agency PTI.

On April 1, the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested three people for taking bribes to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in connection with an organ transplant. It is alleged that these officers were issuing fake NOCs in exchange for money. The incident has led to action against many hospitals in Jaipur and an investigation ordered by Medical Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar. 

Also read- Jaipur Fake Organ Transplant NOC Case: 6 Doctors Under Anti-Corruption Bureau's Radar