KEM EMPLOYEE PILFERS MONEY MEANT FOR POOR PATIENTS

MUMBAI: A contractual employee of the KEM hospital, who allegedly embezzled an amount of ₹61.65 lakh meant for poor patients, was booked by the Bhoiwada police on Thursday.

The police said the accused, Sonali Ashok Gaikwad, forged signatures of three doctors, including the deputy dean of the civic hospital, and got many bogus bills, of medical equipment supplying vendors, cleared.

Gaikwad was hired on contractual basis in July 2019 to maintain record of amounts received for the benefit of poor patients from the chief minister’s and the prime minister’s funds and charitable trusts.

Gaikwad has been booked following a complaint lodged by Dr Krantikumar Rathod posted at the X-ray department of Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College and the KEM hospital.

In his complaint, Dr Rathod said that for operations and other medical treatments, poor patients take financial help from various trusts such as CM’s funds and PM’s national relief funds. These funds are deposited in the bank account of “Poor Box Charity Fund KEM Hospital” and the medical equipment and other material suppliers are paid from this account.

In his statement to the police, Dr Rathod said that on January 6, 2023 he found out that a patient book had his signature forged on it. The matter was brought to the attention of the dean of the hospital and Gaikwad was confronted about it. She admitted to it and confessed that she had forged the signatures of other senior doctors as well. She said she had used a duplicate stamp to clear bogus bills of the vendors, Dr Rathod stated in the FIR.

The dean ordered an inquiry. Assistant dean Dr Vaishali Gondane found that Gaikwad had, from April 2022 to January 9, 2023 cleared over a dozen duplicate bills of vendors in illegal manner and embezzled funds to the tune of ₹61.65 lakh.