JJ hospital officials may suspend two medical workers for kidney racket

JJ hospital

A day after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested two medical social workers of JJ hospital for their alleged involvement in a kidney racket, the authorities said the duo would be suspended if they were in custody for 48 hours.

However, the dean has clarified that the hospital had no connection with the Zonal Transplant Authorisation Committee (ZTAC), which gives the go-ahead for all transplantations, and has also asked the Director of Medical Education and Research (DMER) to conduct an enquiry at their level.

According to the investigation, the accused - Tushar Savarkar, superintendent of social work department and Sachin Salve, organ transplant coordinator - had taken Rs 80,000 as bribe for clearing a patient's file for a kidney transplant. Dr Sanjay Surase, medical superintendent, JJ hospital, said, "The news is shocking. We have informed the higher authorities about the incident. An enquiry committee will be set up to probe the matter."

Dr Mukund Tayade, dean of JJ hospital, told mid-day, "The hospital has nothing to do with transplantations. The authorisation committee is a completely different body. It doesn't fall under our jurisdiction." When contacted, Dr Praveen Shingare, DMER, said, "We have already formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter. All documents related to the case have been checked."

Rs 80k
Amount the duo had taken for clearing a transplant application

Similar racket
In a similar case in 2016, a kidney racket was busted at Mumbai's Hiranandani hospital, following which a transplant was stopped mid-way. A total of 14 people, including five doctors, were arrested in the course of the investigation.

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