Sassoon Hospital Former Dean linked to 2022 Ruby Hall kidney transplant racket

Pune: The former dean and head of the Forensic Medicine department at Sassoon General Hospital, currently in jail for allegedly tampering with the blood sample of the teen driver in the Porsche car crash case in Pune has now found himself entangled in another controversy. His name has emerged in connection with the 2022 Ruby Hall Clinic kidney transplant racket. 

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported on the kidney transplant scam that surfaced at Ruby Hall Clinic in 2022. A case was registered by the Pune Police against 15 individuals, including the managing trustee of the hospital and several employees, following revelations of malpractice during a kidney transplant procedure. The scandal came to light after a woman was made to pose as an organ receiver's spouse and was promised a good amount of money in return.

While the initial FIR included 15 accused, Dr Ajay Taware will now be made the co-accused in the case. This comes after the police reinvestigated the case and uncovered that Dr Taware was heading the eight-member Regional Authorisation Committee (RAC) responsible for approving transplants at the time the illegal activities were taking place, and he was the chairman of the RAC.

Also read- Ruby Hall clinic Director, Nephrologist, Urologist,12 others booked for malpractice in kidney transplant case

It is to be noted that on July 18, 2023, the state had constituted a committee headed by a retired High Court judge to conduct an inquiry to probe the alleged kidney racket scam at Ruby Hall Clinic. During the investigation, the committee found Dr Taware's involvement with the case. He reportedly approved procedures based on forged documents. 

Despite these findings and the committee holding him responsible, his name was conspicuously missing from the original FIR. Further, the committee had also recorded statements from several members of the RAC, which revealed that Dr Taware approved the kidney transplant despite clear discrepancies in the submitted documents.

Medical Dialogues had reported about the case, which stemmed from a fatal crash on May 19 last year, when a Porsche car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol, ran over two IT professionals riding a motorcycle in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area.

The juvenile, son of a real estate developer, has since been released from an observation home. However, ten other accused, including his parents, Vishal and Shivani Agarwal, the two Sassoon doctors, hospital staffer Ghatkamble, two alleged middlemen and three others, remain in judicial custody.

Dr Ajay Taware and Dr Shrihari Halnor, working at the government-run Sassoon General Hospital at the time of the incident, were accused of manipulating blood samples of the underage driver involved in the crash. Following this, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) suspended the license of both doctors.

Speaking to Pune Times Mirror, Nikhil Pingle, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Pune Crime Branch, said, “As per the directions of Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, we have started reinvestigation into the kidney transplant case. We are reviewing some documents, medical reports and analysing video evidence, which revealed the involvement of Dr Ajay Taware, who was the chairman of RAC at the time of the incident in 2022. Based on our findings, we will formally name him in the case and seek his custody for further investigation. Those who are directly or indirectly involved will face charges. We will also record statements of a few people again. We are going to reinvestigate the role of doctors at Ruby Hall Clinic.”

Also read- Maharashtra Medical Council suspends doctors over blood swap in Pune Porsche Crash Case