Mumbai: Cops finally arrest 1 in cancer scam racket

The accused Ashok Sanap. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

Weeks after mid-day exposed a gang of quacks who prey on the vulnerable at cancer hospitals, the Bhoiwada police nabbed a member of the group. The cops acted swiftly after this newspaper submitted crucial evidence to help them crack down on the menace.

The accused has been identified as Swami Babu Shirke, 31. He would introduce himself to cancer patients' relatives as Ashok Sanap. He was arrested recently from Vitthalwadi in Kalyan.

After examining pieces of evidence that these reporters had gathered during a weeklong undercover investigation in February, the Bhoiwada police began to search for older cases of fraud that had been registered. They then zeroed in on an FIR that was registered last November.

Sub-Inspector Amit Kadam told mid-day that Shirke is a member of the same gang of quacks that lures and fleeces desperate families of cancer patients by offering them 'ayurvedic' cures.

Also Read: Gang of quacks runs amok in Mumbai cancer hospitals

On November 3, 2020, a 35-year-old victim, Navin Ramchandra Lad, registered an FIR under Section 420 (cheating) against a gang of thugs, including Krishna Patil, Sandeep Patil, Suresh More, Ashok Sanap and one Jadhav.

Shirke was indirectly in touch with Krishna Patil, the alleged ringleader whom mid-day had exposed in its first investigative piece, dated February 27.

mid-day reporters with the alleged ringleader of the racket Krishna Patil (right). Pics/Rajesh Gupta

This paper also shed light on how the racketeers operated in cahoots with certain ayurvedic dispensaries in the city.

The members would give their victims Krishna's contact number and ask them to get in touch with him for the cure. The relatives of patients were then asked by Krishna to obtain a variety of items to be turned into a paste. In an attempt to keep their targets ensnared, Krishna would request them to send photos of the items.

A police officer told mid-day that Lad had been duped of R2.5 lakh in a manner similar to the modus operandi revealed in the investigative piece.

The Mumbai police called Lad and showed him photographs of Krishna, who our undercover reporters had met at Dadar West. "Lad identified the man in the photographs published in your reports as Krishna," said PSI Kadam.

He added, "Though we have arrested Sanap, the other key members have switched off their cellphones and are on the run. Our investigation is underway and soon these people will be arrested."

"The accused Sanap's role was to collect money from victims who could not pay the entire amount at the ayurvedic shops. He (Sanap) would accompany them to their houses to get the remaining amount," he added.

Sources told mid-day that after the expose was published, all the accused and their accomplices returned to remote native places in the interiors of Maharashtra. "The story was widely circulated. The thugs got alarmed and have temporarily stopped their shady activities," said a source.

"But they will surely return to Mumbai to target the desperate at top cancer hospitals," added the source.

At the meeting with mid-day's undercover reporters, Krishna had narrated a sob story about how his ayurvedic medicine had helped someone in his family who suffered despite spending lakhs of rupees on oncologists. His story would change as per the details of each patient.

He would take the relatives to an ayurvedic shop near the meeting spot to purchase the final "magic" ingredient - metallic and non-metallic bhasma (ash obtained through incineration), which costs nearly R1 lakh. Once he managed to convince the kin, the ash would be added to the paste.

mid-day reporters were also taken to an ayurvedic shop in Dadar West to create the concoction.

The police told mid-day that the establishment has been shut ever since the story was published. "It is still shut and the owners' numbers are switched off," PSI Kadam said.

"Lad has identified certain people mentioned in your story. We are attempting to arrest them," he added.

The investigating team has also retrieved call data records of all the accused.

The gang members would sneak inside hospitals bearing random medical files and X-ray reports while looking out for patients arriving in high-end cars. They would somehow retrieve the medical files of such patients and then approach their relatives, convincing them to opt for their ayurvedic treatment instead of 'wasting lakhs of rupees' on oncologists.

Dozens of people contacted mid-day and narrated their ordeals after the expose was published. The police also contacted some victims to encourage them to come forward and register complaints.