A case of death of patients due to irregularities in the angioplasty process has come to light in Gujarat. Five people, including the chief executive officer of the hospital, have been arrested in connection with the death of two beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) following a botched up angioplasty procedure at a hospital in Ahmedabad this month.
With these arrests, the number of people arrested so far in this case has increased to six, including Dr Prashant Vazirani, visiting heart surgeon who performed angioplasty on these two beneficiaries at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital, Ahmedabad. Dr. Vazirani had already been arrested.
Used to organize camps, used to get angioplasty done
A police officer said that three other accused are still absconding, including hospital chairman Kartik Patel, director Rajshree Kothari and Dr. Sanjay Patolia. Kartik Patel is abroad.
Police Commissioner (Crime) Sharad Singhal said that investigation revealed that the hospital organized free check-up camps in villages to persuade PMJAY card holders to undergo angioplasty, even though there was no need for it. He said that to speed up government approval, patients were wrongly registered in the emergency category and in return the hospital claimed payment from the government.
He said the hospital had earned Rs 11 crore under the scheme last year, of which 70 per cent of the income came from such claims.
Singhal said that among the five people arrested on Tuesday are the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rahul Jain, Marketing Director Chirag Rajput, Marketing Executive Milind Patel and his two assistants Pankil Patel and Prateek Bhatt.
What information did the police give?
Jain, a chartered accountant, was caught in Udaipur, while the others were arrested from a farmhouse in Kapadvanj taluka of Gujarat’s Kheda district, where they were hiding since the police investigation began, the police commissioner said. He told that this farmhouse belongs to Rajput’s friend.
Singhal said that the hospital’s marketing executive Milind Patel and his two assistants used to organize free testing camps on the instructions of marketing director Chirag Rajput. He said, they used to convince people to undergo surgery in the hospital under the PMJAY scheme (which is free), they also used to pay commission to the village sarpanches. This investigation was started after the family members of two patients complained about their death. These two patients were among the seven people who underwent angioplasty on November 11.