Former Dental College Dean held for seeking bribe from doctors facing inquiry

Ahmedabad: In a major crackdown, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has caught two senior officials with strong links to the healthcare sector—a retired dean of the Government Dental College in Asarwa and the Additional Secretary (Inquiry), Class 1, in the Health and Family Welfare Department red-handed while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh.

The bribe was reportedly sought from a doctor and another health official in exchange for influencing the outcome of a departmental inquiry related to alleged bogus medical practices in their favour.

Dinesh Parmar, Additional Secretary (Inquiry), Class 1, in the Health and Family Welfare Department, and Girish Parmar, retired dean of the Government Dental College in Asarwa, allegedly conspired to demand a bribe from a former deputy director and his colleague, a fellow doctor. While Girish was arrested on the spot, Dinesh has been included as a co-accused in the case.

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According to ACB officials, Girish Parmar initially reached out to the complainant, acting as an intermediary and assured him that he could arrange a meeting with Dinesh, promising to issue a clean chit in the ongoing departmental inquiry. In exchange, the duo demanded Rs 30 lakh—Rs 15 lakh to be paid in advance and the remaining amount after the work was completed.

This information was being shared with the ACB team, who hatched a plan to nab the duo red-handed. They asked the complainant to engage in conversation with Girish. Following this, Girish called the complainant, asking him to come home with the bribe money. After reaching the spot, they engaged in a conversation consistent with his previous demand, and the accused accepted the bribe money. At that moment, the ACB team caught him red-handed.

Girish Parmar was caught red-handed by the ACB while accepting the Rs 15 lakh bribe and was immediately arrested. Dinesh Parmar, however, was not present at the scene during the operation. Based on evidence and the complainant’s statement, he has been named as a co-accused in the bribery and corruption case, reports TOI.

Why was the bribe demanded?

The shocking bribery and graft case came to light after the ACB’s Ahmedabad unit arrested Girish Parmar from his residence in Arham Society, Shahibaug, where he was caught red-handed accepting Rs 15 lakh in cash—the first installment of the alleged bribe from a former deputy director of health services in Bhavnagar.

Dinesh Parmar, currently posted as Additional Secretary (Inquiry) in the Health and Family Welfare Department, is known to have strong bureaucratic connections, including being close to a serving IAS officer. Dinesh held charge of several key departments, including Medical and Health, GMERS (Gujarat Medical and Emergency Response Services), Vigilance, AYUSH, and Nursing. He was the final authority responsible for deciding complaints against heads of medical colleges and doctors serving in public hospitals. This made him a powerful individual in matters of departmental inquiries and disciplinary actions.

According to ACB officials, the case originated when a former deputy director, facing an internal inquiry over allegations of extortion from hospital subordinates, was approached by Girish Parmar.

The former deputy director is the one who gave a tip-off to the ACB that Girish had approached him. Girish, acting as an intermediary, had allegedly approached the deputy director, allegedly saying that Dinesh could ensure a positive outcome of the inquiry.

The complainant in this case earlier served as deputy director (health and medical services) in Bhavnagar. He took disciplinary action against certain staff members of the health department for bogus medical treatments. Following this, a complaint of extortion was filed against the complainant with the department commissioner.

As a result, both the complainant and his doctor colleague were relieved of duty, and a preliminary departmental inquiry was initiated against them. The inquiry officer completed this departmental investigation in October 2024 and submitted the report in January 2025.

In the meantime, Girish Parmar allegedly contacted the complainant and called for a meeting with Dinesh Parmar, with the agenda of putting in a favourable report in the preliminary inquiry report. When the complainant and his colleague visited Gandhinagar, the two accused allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 30 lakh in exchange for ensuring a favourable outcome in the inquiry. Of this, Rs 15 lakh was to be paid upfront, with the remaining amount to be handed over once the matter was resolved.

Following repeated calls from Girish Parmar pressuring for the payment, the complainant, along with other doctors, approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau and lodged a formal complaint, prompting officials to set up a trap and nab the accused red-handed.

The trap operation was conducted by Shri S.N. Barot, Police Inspector, ACB, Field-3 (Intelligence), Ahmedabad, with assistance from Smt. A.K. Chauhan, Police Inspector, ACB, Field-1. The operation was supervised by Shri A.V. Patel, Assistant Director, ACB, Field-3 (Intelligence).

TOI has reported that Girish and Dinesh share family relations. Meanwhile, Girish has been sent on police remand till Friday, April 11.

Speaking to Ahmedabad Mirror, ACB Director and Additional DGP Piyush Patel said, "We're currently having voice samples forensically examined before taking action against Dinesh Parmar."

Who is Girish Parmer?

Parmar is the former Dean of Government Dental College & Hospital in the Asarva Civil Hospital campus in Ahmedabad. He was on this post untill less than two years ago. Despite his retirement, Girish Parmar was still working at the dental college in Asarwa as dean on a contractual basis. A disciplinary action has been launched against him.

Desh Gujarat reported that he is B.D.S., M.D.S. (Conservative & Endodontics), PhD. He had been a Tutor in conservative dentistry from 14.05.85 to 28.11.90. Assistant Professor in conservative dentistry from 29.11.1990 to 02.03.1994. Associate Professor in conservative dentistry from 03.03.1994 to 28.11.1995. Professor & Head in conservative dentistry from 29.11.1995. He was Dean, Govt. Dental College & Hospital, Ahmedabad from 27.07.2005. He was Additional Director (Dental), Govt. of Gujarat from Dec. 2018.

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