Charitable Hospital doctor, superintendent booked for demanding Rs 30,000 bribe

Nashik: A case has been registered against the medical superintendent, a doctor, and a cashier of a charitable hospital in Panchavati after a farmer accused them of demanding and accepting bribes for the cancer treatment of his wife, despite her being eligible for free treatment under a government scheme. 

According to the complainant, the accused demanded Rs 30,000 from him for his wife's treatment without giving any proper explanation behind the charge. He first paid Rs 9,000, and later Rs 11,000, making it a total of Rs 20,000. Despite paying the amount, he was not given any receipt for the transaction.

He further alleged that the money was demanded unnecessarily since he was eligible for the government's Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Scheme, which provides cashless healthcare services, including surgeries, hospitalisation, and medical care for beneficiaries.

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As per a TOI news report, the complainant stated in the complaint that he holds a yellow ration card and is eligible for free treatment for himself and his family under the government scheme. 

The incident took place when the farmer admitted his wife to the charity trust hospital on March 31 for cancer surgery and treatment. The farmer alleged that on April 3, the hospital’s medical superintendent asked him to pay ₹30,000. He said he had only Rs 9,000 at the time, which he gave to the cashier without receiving any receipt or explanation. Later, on April 7, he was again asked to pay Rs 21,000. He managed to collect and hand over another Rs 11,000.

The farmer claimed the demands didn’t stop there. He said when he visited the hospital again to get his wife’s stitches removed, he was asked to pay Rs 5,000 more. This time, instead of paying, he approached the police and filed a complaint.

Following this, the Panchavati police registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The matter is currently under investigation by Deputy Superintendent of Police Swati Pawar from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Nashik. No arrests have been made so far.

In response to the allegations, Sameer Tulzapurkar, general manager of the hospital, said, "We are ready to face the legal procedure as the complaint is baseless and lodged with a vindictive attitude. The surgery was performed in April, and the complaint was lodged in June. Our hospital has been giving quality treatment to patients for close to two decades, and there has never been any complaint of this kind."

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