CHALA MURARI DOCTOR BANANE: Third cheating FIR against Dr Murari Saraf and Bombay Hospital

Akela

THE Bhoiwada police station in Central Mumbai has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Dr Murari Nagar Saraf and Bombay Hospital for allegedly cheating the department of health of the Maharashtra government. This is the third FIR against Saraf and his fellow doctors for their corrupt practices.

On October 7, officers of the Bhoiwada police station registered the FIR against Murari alias ML and Bombay Hospital under sections 420, 15 (A), 33 (A) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Although Saraf was posted in the BMC-run KEM Hospital, he illegally practised for 40 years in Bombay Hospital and the Navy-run Ashwini hospital and continues to illegally practice in the Bombay Port Trust (BPT) hospital. Shrish Sawant Senior Inspector of Bhoiwada police station confirmed that FIR has been registered against Saraf.

On August 16, 2014, ABI (abinet.org) published an article under the headline “24 unregistered doctors are practising in Birla’s Bombay Hospital!”

The article dealt with the death of Geetika Ghosh (73), a native of Kolkata, during treatment in Bombay Hosital in 2013. Ghosh was admitted to Bombay Hospital with a fractured femur (thigh) bone in January 2013. Shockingly, when Ghosh died, Saraf was leading the doctors’ team. Her daughter Nandini Sachde witnessed the negligence of doctors. After complaints by Nandini, a panel of four doctors from the Department of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Surgery, J J Group of Hospitals, found that there had been professional negligence in Geetika Ghosh’s death.

A shocked Nandini tried to expose all the corrupt practices at Bombay Hospital. In November 2013, Nandini filed an RTI query and found that orthopaedician Murari Saraf was practising for 40 years in Bombay Hospital illegally. It was also disclosed that Saraf is a serial cheater of the government. He cheated not only Bombay Hospital but also KEM Hospital, Navy Hospital and Bombay Port Trust (BPT) hospital. The documents show Saraf practised first at the BMC-run KEM hospital-cum-medical-college at Parel from 1975 to 2005 as surgeon.

On September 19, 2014, Nandini complained to the then commissioner of health department in BMC Sanjay Deshmukh seeking action against Saraf. Deshmukh failed to take action. On February 2 this year Nandini sent a reminder complaint. Sanjay Deshmukh then ordered KEM Hospital dean Avinash Supe to look into the matter. Supe two times called Saraf to register his statement but he ignored the call. After that Supe took legal opinion (copy available with ABI) and reached the conclusion that Saraf was indeed in the wrong. On the basis of the legal opinion, Supe registered an FIR against Saraf.

ABI is in possession of the relevant documents.

First FIR
On October 19, 2013, an FIR (copy available with ABI) was registered at the Azad Maidan police station under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 201 (giving false information), 420 (cheating), 467 (forging of documents), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (fraudulent use of documents), and 109 (abetment) of IPC against Saraf, Dr P L Tiwari, Dr Parikh, Dr N Bharucha and Dr Borges.

Second FIR
On January 27, 2015 Azad Maidan police registered a second FIR under sections 420 and 415 (cheating) and 109 (abetment) of the IPC and sections 33 and 38 of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioner Act, 1961. Later, on April 8, 2014, the matter was transferred to the crime branch of the police for further investigation, which is still pending. And now there are three FIRs. Two more FIRs should also be registered against Saraf by Navy and BPT officials.

Despite repeated attempts to contact him, Dr Sagar Sakle, spokesperson, Bombay Hospital, did not make himself available for comment. He kept disconnecting the phone calls made to him.