CBI Case Reveals How Safdarjung Neurosurgeon Extorted Crores From Patients

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after arresting a neurosurgeon of Safdarjung Hospital and his four accomplices in March for allegedly forcing patients into buying surgical equipment from a particular establishment at exorbitant prices, filed a fresh case against the doctor on Friday.

Neurosurgeon Manish Rawat is accused of amassing disproportionate assets. In the new FIR, apart from Mr Rawat, his wife Khushboo has also been named as an accused. Both are accused of amassing illegal assets worth at least Rs 2.4 crore.

The couple had Rs 3.39 crore, and their expenditure was Rs 1.16 crore, a CBI probe revealed. Jewellery worth Rs 69 lakh was also found in a locker.

"During the course of the investigation, he (Manish Rawat) acquired assets worth Rs 4.63 crore, which includes five immovable properties worth Rs 3.47 crore in Noida (UP) and Haldwani (Uttarakhand), investments of about Rs 48 lakh in companies and firms in which Khushboo Rawat is one of the directors and partners, and he has invested Rs 17.5 lakh in insurance policies," the FIR alleged, adding that Mr Rawat had "knowingly made financial gains illegally" and amassed assets worth Rs 2.40 crore in the couple's name, which was 70.85% more than their known sources of income.

Earlier, in March this year, the CBI raided and arrested five people, including neurosurgeon Manish Rawat, suspecting them of running an extortion gang. Some middlemen were also arrested for taking bribes from patients and extorting money from them illegally in the name of treatment.

Dr Mahesh Rawat is Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery Department of Safdarjung Hospital. Notably, four people were killed in Ghaziabad in 2017 in an accident involving the doctor's Audi Q7 car. Mr Rawat had presented another man in front of the court as the one behind the wheels during the fatal accident, but it was found that he was a truck driver, and was in Bareilly at the time of the accident.

According to the CBI, a complaint was received that Dr Manish Rawat, along with some of his close associates Avnesh Patel, Manish Sharma, owner of Kanishk Surgical, Deepak Khattar, and Kuldeep, an employee of Deepak Surgical, in a criminal conspiracy, was taking money from the patients who had come for treatment in the name of providing medical advice and performing surgeries according to the rules of the hospital.

Dr Rawat used to advise patients to buy equipment for surgery from Kanishk Surgery owned by Deepak Khattar, and the patients were sold those at very high prices as the doctor used to get his cut from this, the CBI said. 

Avnesh Patel, on the instructions of Dr Rawat, used to contact the attendants of the patients and told them they would get Dr Rawat's appointment, or earlier dates for surgeries, if they paid a bribe, the probe agency said. Avnesh used to give the money received from the patients to Manish Sharma and Kuldeep, employees of Deepak Khattar, or transfer it to their bank account.

The CBI probe revealed that Rs 15,000, Rs 30,000, and Rs 25,000 were taken from three patients recently. This money was further transferred to the bank account of companies of Ganesh Chandra, a resident of Bareilly, which was later routed to Dr Manish Rawat, the probe agency said. Middleman Avnesh Patel transferred Rs 1 lakh to Dr Rawat for a recent Kerala tour, and also transferred Rs 19,000 for a saree for his wife Khushboo Rawat.

The CBI had arrested Dr Manish Rawat, Avnesh Patel, Manish Sharma, Deepak Khattar, and Kuldeep after conducting raids at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and some other places in Uttar Pradesh.