The state prison authorities have held Dr Rahul Ghule, former chief medical officer of Arthur Road Jail, responsible for helping former deputy CM and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal get admitted to St Geor
The state prison authorities have held Dr Rahul Ghule, former chief medical officer of Arthur Road Jail, responsible for helping former deputy CM and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal get admitted to St George Hospital by fudging medical records to ensure the leader received special treatment. Bhujbal is an accused in a money laundering case worth crores.
Speaking to mediapersons, Bipin Kumar Singh, IG (Prisons) said, “Bhujbal was suffering from a recurring tooth ache and hence he was referred to St George Hospital, since it has a dental college. He was to be taken to the dental OPD there on Monday.”
Mr Singh explained that the jail maintained a record called Register No. 32, which held details of all patients being sent to the hospital for medical checks. “This record was altered by Ghule, who changed ‘dental OPD’ to ‘medical OPD’, causing Bhujbal to be admitted to St. George’s medical wing. Normally inmates have to be taken to JJ Hospital in case of medical ailments,” he said.
Mr Singh alleged that on April 17, Dr Ghule visited the jail despite being on leave to alter the register. “We strongly suspect that Ghule had accompanied Bhujbal to St George Hospital on April 18,” said Mr Singh.
Bhujbal, accused of money laundering, had been remanded to judicial custody and was admitted to ICU of St George Hospital on April 18. He is said to have complained of chest pain and high blood pressure. Prison authorities said they were considering serious action against Dr Ghule for his alleged misconduct. “He did not inform jail authorities or other medical officers about why he was referring Bhujbal to the medical OPD. He came to the office on a day when no higher authority was present and altered the records,” said a senior prison officer.
Authorities have repatriated the doctor to the public health department (PHD) and have also asked it to take strict action against him. When asked about the allegations made by Dr Ghule that many jail authorities took money from undertrials and inmates to get preferential treatment, Mr Singh said they had ordered on internal inquiry. Meanwhile, Bhujbal’s current condition is improving, doctors said, “He was shifted to general ward in the morning. A Holter test may be done by the JJ Hospital doctors and the reports will be submitted on Saturday morning,” said Dr Rohan Sequira, associate professor, medicine department, St George Hospital.
