Medanta Hospital refutes land grabbing allegations, calls petitioner "Extortionist"
Raman Sharma has been accused of extortion in 2015 and an FIR was registered against him (FIR 0548 dated 10/10/2015 at the Central Police Station, Faridabad). Extortionists have found a fertile breeding ground, while claiming to be RTI activists, Medanta said in a statement.
As per the complainant, the genesis of the issue goes back to 2004 when the Haryana government launched a project to build a Medicity in 53 acres of land in Sector 38 of Gurugram under HUDA. According to the project, apart from the hospital many facilities including medical colleges, research centers, quarters for nursing staff, guest houses for relatives of patients were to be developed. The full project was estimated to be Rs 1000 crore and was supposed to be completed by 2009.
The complainant alleged that rather than all this only a hospital on the land was built under Dr Trehan for purely commercial use, ignoring the other facilities. Accusing the doctor of conniving with government officials, the complainant further alleged that instead of completing the project, money is being invested in other states by earning from here.
Also Read: FIR Against Dr Naresh Trehan, Medanta On Land Grabbing Case: Media Reports
The hospital, however recently released a statement refuting all allegations and yet at the same time stating that the petitioner in the case is accused of extortion in 2015 and an FIR was registered against him (FIR 0548 dated 10/10/2015 at the Central Police Station, Faridabad).
Calling the complainant extortionist, the hospital stated, "We are shocked to see the allegations against Medanta Hospital and its Chairman, by an individual who has managed to get news space with irresponsible and frivolous accusations, without any scrutiny of his claims. While Medanta has always let our work and commitment to healthcare speak for itself, we feel compelled to set the record straight with what we see appearing as news items in the past few days.
"An individual, Raman Sharma, claiming to be an RTI activist, but as reported by the media, has been accused of extortion, has made completely false and baseless allegations against our Chairman and others. The allegations are absurd, and in fact, what has been overlooked is that Raman Sharma had previously filed two cases, identical to this one, in Delhi, one in Patiala House Court and one in the Delhi High Court. Both these cases were dismissed, and the judge rejected his allegations as "vague, unspecific and not even a single incident with sufficient detail has been mentioned in the entire complaint.," the statement read.
Elaborating on the same, the hospital highlighted that after failing in the courts in Delhi, he went to the District Court in Gurugram. He did not disclose to the Court in Gurugram that a full enquiry had already been completed and it was found that the allegations were baseless. This is how he mischievously misled the court into passing an Order in his favour, which should never have been passed.
"Raman Sharma has been accused of extortion in 2015 and an FIR was registered against him (FIR 0548 dated 10/10/2015 at the Central Police Station, Faridabad). Extortionists have found a fertile breeding ground, while claiming to be RTI activists. The fact that the allegations in his complaint pertain to the 16-year-old land allotment on which the hospital is built demonstrates this. We pride ourselves in strong principles of governance and financial transparency. The allegations in the complaint are nothing short of absurd," the hospital added.
Addressing the allegation, the hospital expressed, "We are in the midst of a global pandemic. Many of our doctors, including our Chairman, despite being over 65 years of age, continue to tend to their patients selflessly, in the face of this pandemic, putting themselves at risk every day to serve others. We are pained that in the midst of the courage they demonstrate every day, they are forced to address completely malicious and false allegations."
"Despite the harassment from certain individuals, we shall continue to focus our energy and resources on saving lives and providing healthcare, especially at time when it has never been more important than it is now," said the statement reports NDTV.
