4 booked for trying to extort Rs 2.5 crore from doctor

The doctor has told the police that on October 5, 2017, at a trauma care centre, a patient, with bruises on his right arm, had come to him complaining of pain on his neck. On the basis of the MRI report, the doctor had advised him to undergo a surgery.

“On October 26, the man underwent a surgery. Later, as he could not breath, he was put on ventilator support. When he started feeling better, he was shifted to another ward. But then he suffered a brain stroke and was again put on a ventilator support. He died on December 4, 2017,” said an officer.

Police said that following this, the man’s wife lodged a complaint at the D N Nagar police station against the doctor. “The man’s remains were sent for postmortem exam at Cooper hospital. An expert committee from JJ hospital also conducted an inquiry and found no medical negligence in the case,” the officer said.

Last February, two persons approached the doctor claming that they worked for RPI(A) president Ramdas Aathawale and asked him to pay Rs 2.5 crore to settle the matter. “In order to pressurise the doctor, they even published defamatory articles against him in local newspapers. They also tried to pressure him by approaching senior doctors,” said the officer.

On December 14, when the doctor was in a private hospital, he received a call from a person who claimed that he was from the Chief Minister’s Office. “The man also threatened the doctor to pay Rs 2.5 crore to the deceased’s wife. The doctor was told that if he fails to pay up, they will not let him practice in Mumbai,” said the officer. Senior Inspector Milind Ramchandra Kurde said the matter is being probed.

Another officer said, “The wife of the patient who died and three other persons who claimed to be speaking from Athawale’s office and CMO have been booked…”