Bhaskar Exclusive: VS clinical trial scam, Rs 15 crore siphoned off, recovery of Rs 1.5 crore

The municipal corporation has issued a recovery notice of only Rs 1.5 crore against 15 doctors, including retired superintendents Dr Manish Patel and Dr Devang Rana, against the embezzlement of Rs 15 crore in the Alpesh Bhatt VS Clinical Trial case. In this regard, retired Superintendent Dr. Manish Patel told the committee that he has deposited 10 per cent of the Rs 6 crore received from the clinical trial in VS. Without taking this into account, a notice has been issued for recovery of an amount considered normal. Dr Manish Patel has been given a recovery notice of only Rs 3-4 lakh. On the issue of illegal clinical trials in the hospital, it is the municipality's intention to put a full stop to the controversy by recovering only a small amount. When former superintendent Dr Manish Patel appeared before the inquiry committee on April 25, he said that the amount of clinical trial is more than Rs 6 crore. Out of which 10 percent of the amount has been deposited in VS. There is no rule that 40 percent of the amount in a clinical trial should be deposited in the institution. In this way, only 10 percent of the amount of clinical trials is deposited in AIIMS. So 10 percent of the amount has been deposited in VS. If the committee examines the accounts, they will get everything. The committee does not seem to have taken note of the matter. In addition to the eight doctors who have been suspended, the municipal corporation has given recovery notices to another 4-5 doctors who were earlier on contract and later left VS Hospital. Corporator Rajshree Kesari, who brought out the scam, said, "It has come to my notice that an amount of Rs 32 lakh has been taken in a single clinical trial. If there have been as many as 58 clinical trials, how much large amount would have been taken?