Maha govt suspends 2 doctors who changed blood samples of Porsche teen

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday suspended two senior doctors of the Sassoon General Hospital, Pune, on various charges, including tampering with the blood samples of the minor accused in the Porsche car crash of May 19 which killed two persons.

Simultaneously, hospital Dean Dr. Vinayak Kale has been sent on 'compulsory leave' and his charge has been handed over to another senior doctor, an official said.

In a detailed notification issued on Wednesday, the Directorate of Medical Education & Research (DMER), Mumbai, slapped the suspension orders on Dr. Ajay Taware and Dr. Shrihari Halnor -- signed by M.R. Bandpatte -- with immediate effect.

The action on the duo came after a special 3-member medical panel headed by Dr. Pallavi Saple carried out a two-day inquiry into the circumstances leading to the change of blood samples, tampering with the blood report of the accused minor, currently in a juvenile correctional centre till June 5, and related aspects of the case,

Both the doctors -- currently in police custody till May 31 -- have been barred from accepting any private employment during the period they are under suspension.

According to police investigations so far, Dr. Taware and Dr. Halnor had chucked the minor's blood sample into the dustbin, and organised the blood sample of some other person and submitted his report, ostensibly to give a clean chit to the accused 17-year-old boy.

The police raided Dr. Halnor and another hospital peon, Atul Ghatkamble, acting as the conduit for the deal, recovered an amount of Rs 3 lakh that had allegedly changed hands for the favours rendered in the case that sparked nationwide outrage.

However, the Pune Police had taken another sample of the accused boy, which was given to another hospital for analysis, and its report matched with the blood samples of the minor's father, which is expected to help the police build a watertight case.

IANS with edits