Safdarjung ‘scam’: Neurosurgeon accused of duping patients for implants gets bail
There has been no effective hearing ever since the charge sheet was filed, said Special Judge while granting bail to Rawat
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According to the public prosecutor representing the CBI, the witnesses said that the money was forcibly taken from the patients and their attendants, and was syphoned off by the doctor. (File Photo)A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to Dr. Manish Rawat, a neurosurgeon of Safdarjung Hospital arrested for duping 54 patients of Rs 2.7 crore by overcharging them for implants. The patients who were cheated were mostly from poor families and the CBI is probing Rawat along with others.
“…in totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, and taking note of the custody period of the applicant/accused, in backdrop of the fact that no effective hearing has taken place since filing of the charge sheet on 29.05.2023 i.e. for the last more than a year, and the fact that trial of the case is likely to take considerable time to conclude,” Special Judge Anil Antil said, while granting relief to Rawat, who had been in judicial custody since March last year – except for a period of three months in between.
An earlier investigation of official records, CBI court filings, and interviews with several doctors and patients by The Indian Express found out that a nexus of middlemen and companies were involved.
The chargesheet against Rawat said that according to the investigation, the doctor along with others “did not allow the eligible patients to avail the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana of the Government of India”. Many of these implants were covered under the Centre’s flagship Ayushman Bharat scheme, it said.
According to the public prosecutor representing the CBI, the witnesses said that the money was forcibly taken from the patients and their attendants, and was syphoned off by the doctor. While opposing Rawat’s bail plea, the prosecution also cited the gravity of the offence and the influence of the accused.
The investigation further revealed glaring discrepancies between the actual cost of the implants and the amount allegedly charged to patients. In 25 cases, the money allegedly received for the implants was as much as 500% of the actual cost charged by the implant seller.
The investigation has also revealed that on an average, the patients paid Rs 48,833 for a medical implant, while the sellers received an average payment of Rs 11,604.
One among other patients had paid Rs 60,000 for an implant, while the seller got Rs 2,000; two other patients paid Rs 50,000 and Rs 49,000, while the corresponding payments to the seller were Rs 4,000 each. The highest amount charged from a patient was Rs 1.66 lakh in which case the seller only got Rs 58,000.
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