Porsche Crash Case: Medical Council issues notice to Forensic Head, CMO of Sassoon Hospital, DMER launches probe

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Medical Council has issued notices to the head of the Forensic Medicine department and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Pune-based Sassoon General Hospital in connection with the alleged manipulation of the blood sample of the teen driver involved in the Porsche car crash case. 

According to a recent report by Mirror, taking suo moto cognizance of the matter, the council has demanded a written explanation within seven days from the two doctors providing details for their alleged negligence and action will be taken accordingly.   

The two doctors accused of tampering with the blood sample reports include the head of the Forensic Medicine department of Sassoon General Hospital and the chief medical officer of the Sassoon Hospital. Medical Dialogues team yesterday reported that the two doctors of Sassoon Hospital were arrested for allegedly discarding the blood samples of the 17-year-old boy suspect accused of murdering two software engineers and replacing them with another person's samples.

Also read- Forensic Head, CMO Of Sassoon Hospital Held For Swapping Blood Sample Of Teen Accused In Porsche Crash Case

During the investigation, it was revealed that the Chief Medical Officer reportedly replaced the blood samples on the direction of the HOD on 19th May at around 11 am. The CMO allegedly threw the blood samples in a dustbin of the hospital and sent the blood samples of another person to the forensic lab. As a result, the report showed no alcohol traces of the accused.

After their arrest, the MMC took disciplinary action against the duo and served them notices seeking an explanation for their alleged involvement in the case. 

Speaking on this matter, Dr Vinky Rughwani, administrator of MMC told Pune Times Mirror, “We have served notices to both Dr *** and Dr *** and have taken suo motu cognizance of the whole issue. There will be a thorough investigation and inquiry, and based on the reports, we will decide if they should be terminated and if their licenses should be cancelled. This means they will never be able to practice in their life if proven guilty.”

Further, he told Punekar News that MMC has initiated action based on media reports and will review the explanations and evidence provided by the doctors before deciding on further disciplinary measures. "If a doctor’s actions are found to violate medical ethics, the MMC has the authority to suspend their medical license for a period ranging from one day to several years. The council will thoroughly investigate the incident and the involvement of the accused doctors before making a final decision," he added. 

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) has set up a three-member committee to investigate the alleged involvement of the two doctors in the case. 

Medical Education Commissioner Rajiv Nivatkar on Monday issued the order appointing the dean of Grant Medical College and J J group of hospitals Dr Pallavi Sapale as the chairperson of the committee. The other members are Dr Gajanan Chavan, professor of the forensic medicine department of Grant Medical College, and Dr Sudhir Chowdhary, Special Duty Officer at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Government Medical College and Super Speciality Hospital.

According to a PTI report, the committee has been asked to visit Pune on Tuesday. It has also directed Dr Vinayak Kale, Dean of Sassoon General Hospital, to cooperate with the committee in the probe, as per the order.

After the case had been transferred to the crime branch, it was found that the third accused arrested in the case was the peon of Sassoon General Hospital who allegedly received a bribe of Rs 3 lakh. He was acting as a middleman for the two senior doctors. 

The agency found that the peon was working under the accused HOD of the forensic department of Sassoon Hospital. He had been accused of taking the bribe in place of the doctors. It has been revealed that Rs 50,000 has been seized from the peon, while Rs 2.5 lakh from the Chief Medical Officer. However, no amount has been recovered from the HOD. 

Currently, the agency is working to confiscate the illicit funds and find the unidentified source from which they received the bribes. 

Also read- Sassoon Hospital Rat Bite Case: Medical Superintendent Removed, 3 Others Issued Show Cause Notice