Maharashtra Medical Council suspends doctors over blood swap in Pune Porsche Crash Case
Pune: Nearly a year after the Porsche car crash incident, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has suspended the licences of two doctors who were arrested for their alleged involvement in tampering with evidence in the case. Both doctors were working at Sassoon General Hospital at the time of the incident.
The concerned doctors, Dr Ajay Taware and Dr Shrihari Halnor, were arrested for allegedly tampering with the 17-year-old driver’s blood samples. Police stated the samples were swapped with those of his mother to hide alcohol consumption before the crash.
"After both doctors were booked for allegedly swapping the juvenile's blood samples with those of his mother, the MMC took suo motu (on its own) cognisance and sought an explanation from them.
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"However, since they have been in (jail under) judicial custody, a personal hearing could not be held. Based on reports from various committees and the Pune police, the council has suspended their licences until the final outcome (of case) ," said Dr Vinky Rughwani, administrator of the MMC.
"Their licences to practice medicine have been suspended, and they are no longer permitted to treat patients," he maintained. Apart from Dr Taware and Dr Halnor, a hospital staffer, Atul Ghatkamble, was also arrested in connection with the alleged blood sample swap, which according to police, was done to avoid detection of alcohol in the driver's body.
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 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.
The doctors are under investigation for violating the code of medical ethics. The state medical council took suo motu cognisance and decided to launch the inquiry independently due to the gravity of the incident. Based on the findings of the inquiry, appropriate action has now been taken.
