Fake Doctors Hospital: Surat Municipal Corporation to file defamation case over Unauthorized Use of Civic Chief's Name

Ahmedabad: Days after a newly inaugurated hospital in Surat was shut down due to inadequate fire safety measures, the owners of the hospitals with criminal records are going to face a defamation case for circulating invitation cards by putting the name of municipal commissioner Shalini Agrawal as the chief guest allegedly without her consent.

This comes after the hospital owners circulated invitation cards openly by inviting municipal commissioner Shalini Agrawal as the chief guest for the inauguration and police commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut and joint CP Raghvendra Vats as guests of honour. However, their scam was quickly caught by the authorities who sealed their hospital due to a lack of fire department NOC, biomedical waste disposal documents and medical registration certificate.

After this drew the attention of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) Udhna Zone Chief Gajendra Chauhan, he found out that the owner did not get consent from Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal to include her name in the invitation card.

Also read- No Fire NOC: 2 Quacks open hospital in Surat, sealed day after inauguration

Subsequently, he handed an application to Surat Police to register a criminal case against the owner but the police suggested Chauhan to file a defamation case since the application could not be used for a criminal case.

Pandesara police inspector H M Gadhvi said, “We have taken suggestions from legal advisers and top police officials and found that, based on the application, there is no criminal case which can be made against the accused. We have advised the complainant that they have only one option left and that is to lodge a defamation case.”

Talking to The Indian Express, Chauhan said, “Going by the instructions of the municipal commissioner, we have handed the application to the Pandesara police station. The hospital authorities had not taken written or oral consent of the municipal commissioner before putting her name in the invitation card. Police officials suggested that we should proceed with a defamation complaint, which we would do after taking the consent of the Municipal Commissioner.”

Medical Dialogues team recently reported that a newly inaugurated hospital in Surat was shut down due to inadequate fire safety measures, just a day after it was opened. The two quacks who established the facility were previously detained for operating without a valid license or registration.

Despite serious accusations against them, the individuals behind the hospital showed little concern and proceeded to operate a two-storey multi-speciality facility. Their antics were quickly put to rest when the facility was locked off just hours after it opened on Sunday. The facility was shut down by the authorities after they found necessary paperwork for things like biomedical waste disposal, doctor registration with the Gujarat Medical Council, and a fire department NOC was missing.

The two owners of the hospital were previously arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) for running a facility without proper license. Despite the pending investigation, they established a two-floor facility, Janseva Multispeciality Hospital, in Karmayogi Society in Pandesara. During the inauguration, the authorities noticed the names of owners and checked the online health portal for their registration. It was found that four people are partners at the hospital. Among them are three doctors and one retired police sub-inspector.

Meanwhile, Chief District Health Officer Dr Anil Patel has decided to stick a notice at the hospital for the owner's presence at the district health office with necessary medical degree certificates. If they fail to appear within 5 days, the authorities will take action against them.

This comes after Chief District Health Officer Dr Anil Patel and his team visited the hospital premises yesterday where they had called the owners to furnish relevant certificates. However, the owners refused to show up.

Dr Patil told the Daily, “We will stick a notice at the hospital, instructing the owners to remain present at the district health office with necessary medical degree certificates. If they fail to do so in five days, we will take strict action against them. Once we get their certificates, we will verify them."

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