Car crash in Pune: Accused teenager’s blood sample in Pune hospital may be replaced by mother’s

The recent car accident involving a luxury sedan that killed two young IT professionals took another frightening turn when it emerged that doctors at the city’s Sassoon General Hospital may have replaced the blood sample of the accused 17-year-old with that of his mother.

According to government and police sources, the hospital also replaced blood samples from two other occupants of the car at the time of the May 19 accident with blood samples from relatives in order to absolve the drunken teenagers (including the accused 17-year-old driver) of responsibility.

Sources in Pune police said Shrihari Halnor, the chief medical officer who was later arrested and suspended for tampering with the blood sample of the accused teenager who was driving the car, took the sample from the boy’s mother Shivani Agarwal, who was present at the hospital, and threw the youth’s sample in a dustbin.

According to sources, the three-member committee set up by the State Medical Education Department to investigate the tampering of the teenage driver’s blood sample found that blood samples of a woman and two men were collected at the hospital that day.

Three blocked

Dr Halnor was recently arrested along with Ajay Taware, head of the forensic medicine department at the Sassoon-run hospital, and staff member Atul Ghatkamble for tampering with blood samples in exchange for cash to prove that the teenager was not drunk. A court on Thursday extended their police custody until June 5.

While the two doctors and the staff member were suspended, Sassoon Hospital Dean Vinayak Kale was also sent on compulsory leave after the three-member panel condemned his “negligent” handling of the case.

Dr Kale had claimed in a press conference on Wednesday, hours before his dismissal, that Maharashtra Medical Minister Hasan Mushrif and MP Sunil Tingre (both part of the ruling NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar) had recommended that Dr Taware be made the head of the forensic medicine department of Sassoon Hospital, suggesting that political influence was behind the appointment given Dr Taware’s checkered past.

Responding to Dr Kale’s “allegations”, Mr Mushrif told reporters on Thursday that Dr Taware had already been removed from office in April and that he had committed the act (tampering with blood samples) during his official “long leave”.

While admitting that Mr Tingre, MP from Vadgaon Sheri, had given him a letter recommending the appointment of Dr Taware as the Medical Superintendent, Mr Mushrif clarified that Dr Taware had been relieved of his post following the recent infamous incident in which a patient in the ICU died of a rat bite.

“After the rat bite, Taware was relieved of his post in April this year and sent on long leave. He called Dr Halnor on the night of the accident and instructed him to exchange the blood samples with the accused teenager’s family for a cash amount of Rs 300,000. We have arrested both the doctors and sent the dean on compulsory leave,” Mr Mushrif said.

The minister said that in order to overhaul the system, a strict dean was needed at Sassoon Hospital.

“According to the report of the three-member committee, Dr Kale did not perform his duties properly. The committee has submitted a report saying that Dr Kale was negligent in this case and did not take necessary precautions… If we allow such things to continue, the public will get a completely wrong picture,” Mr Mushrif said.