ગુજરાતી
English
Doctors of Ahmedabad hospital forgot humanity and conducted clinical trials, three died
Doctors including Superintendent, Dean took people’s lives for money
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, April 22, 2025
The doctors on duty at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s VS Hospital had forgotten humanity and were giving dangerous doses of new drugs to the patients. Three people died while giving permission for clinical research. The hospital is headed by Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain. Who has been working as a BJP leader for years. Trials were conducted on more than 500 patients and 3 died.
BJP leader Kirit Parmar was the mayor from 2021 to 2023 and he knew that clinical trials were going on. At that time, BJP councilor of Paldi ward Preetesh Mehta had announced in the VS board meeting that clinical trials were going on. But by then the scam was suppressed.
The companies have deposited money in 4 accounts of Devang Rana. Mayor Pratibha Jain knows the names of these companies, yet BJP leaders are protecting the pharma companies. The name of the pharma company has not been revealed.
VS is preparing to close down. Then Devang Rana was ordered to be transferred from SVP to VS for carrying out this scam. After the scam was exposed, Dr. Devang Rana was removed from the committee.
It involves two leaders, a former BJP mayor and a former worker lunch leader who was in the BJP’s doctor cell. They were the people who were present on the ground to get this trial started. The VS board knew that the clinical trial was going on.
Dr. says that the scam has been caught. As soon as Manish Patel came to know, he took voluntary retirement. His resignation was also accepted immediately.
VS hospital has gone bankrupt after 2020. There is no queen there. 200 employees are sitting without work and taking salaries. They stay at home and play video games. As there is no staff at LG Shardaben, this staff has not been sent there. Despite informing the commissioner, no action has been taken.
VS Hospital is no longer affiliated to the medical college.
Dr. Devang Rana, Dean of NHL Medical College Prateek Shah and Manish are the three main accused. These three people have committed a scam of Rs. 17 crores.
No FIR has been registered yet. A list of names of 500 patients has to be published and each patient has to be examined at home. Only then it could be known that 3 died in the hospital, but some patients died after going home. How many out of 500 people have experienced side effects or physical harm? 500 names should be declared. While testing the medicine, signatures of relatives and the patient have to be obtained and their records have to be checked.
One doctor has been suspended and 8 contract doctors have been fired from the job.
The hospital has conducted 58 clinical trials on 500 patients since 2021. An amount of more than Rs 1 crore will be recovered from the doctors involved, including Dr Manish Patel, Dr Devansh Rana. Doctors Yatri Patel, Dhaivat Shukla, Rajvi Patel, Rohan Shah, Krunal Sathwara, Shalin Shah, Darshil Shah and Kandarp Shah have been suspended.
This has raised a serious question of violation of patients’ rights and medical ethics. V.S. Hospital, which is currently on the verge of closure, was a hospital where illegal drugs were being used on poor and uneducated patients.
It is estimated that Rs 10 to 15 crore was looted. Patients were not given full information about the nature of the trials. Pharma companies have refused to share details of the trials, which has deepened suspicion. Most of these were from poor and low-income families. They came to the hospital in the hope of free or subsidized treatment. Unauthorized trials were conducted on such patients.
8 doctors and 1 associate professor, Dr. Devang Rana were involved. Received financial benefits by collaborating with pharma companies. Pharma companies made direct payments to the bank accounts of these doctors. The AMC has called Dr. Devang Rana and suspended eight contract doctors, calling the incident serious.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Bharat Parmar said, “The ethical committee was not formed as per the rules of NMC and DCGI.”
Dr. Cherry Shah, Dean of NHL College and Head of Pharmacology Department, was involved in this scam. Supriya Malhotra and hospital superintendent Dr. Parul Shah will be sent notices.
According to the information, an agreement has been reached with the ethical committees of 4 private hospitals. During the discussion in the Municipal Corporation Board meeting, the Commissioner said that according to the rules of the Drug Controller General, an ethical committee has to be formed for clinical trials.
Chandkheda ward councillor Rajshree Kesari told the media that one of the three patients who died due to clinical research had died at VS Hospital.
According to the MoU reports signed by VS Hospital doctors, the board meeting was silenced as the then superintendent, dean and other doctors alleged that they had taken a percentage for clinical research. The Municipal Commissioner was asked for time to meet the family of one of the deceased.
Crores of rupees were embezzled in the name of clinical trials, turning VS Hospital into an experimental school for living humans. The system is lying about this. There is evidence that the MoU has been signed. It is alleged that Parul Shah and Cherry Shah
V.S. is making Dr. Rana a scapegoat to hide its scam.
A bank account was opened in the name of the superintendent. Yet Parul Shah was unaware. The superintendent himself made a serious allegation that an account was opened in the name of Superintendent Parul Shah and it was also signed. He knew that there was no member in the V.S. committee.
Clinical research is not allowed.
It has been revealed that pharma companies have sought approval from various ethical committees in the testing scam. Most of these committees are not even recognized.
V.S. under the supervision of the then Medical Superintendent of the hospital. Various pharmaceutical companies were testing their new products on patients in the hospital for four years. Investigation revealed that these companies did not even provide funds to the hospital.
Chandkheda ward councilor Rajshree Kesari said that she protested by raising slogans carrying banners like ‘corrupt doctor’. During the Zero Hour debate, Leader of Opposition Shehzad Khan Pathan alleged that 58 clinical trials were conducted on 500 patients at VS Hospital.
Councillor Iqbal Sheikh is the chairman of VS Hospital, BJP leader and Ahmedabad Mayor. The mayor has direct responsibility. He should accept moral responsibility and resign.
This is a criminal offence, not a moral offence, so a police complaint should be filed against the mayor.
Chandkheda ward councillor Rajshree Kesari wanted to speak about the Clean-Luck trial in the board meeting, but she was not allowed to speak.
The mayor tried his best to not give her a chance to speak. Finally, unable to get the required support from his own party, the mayor had to ask the councillor of Chandkheda ward to represent him.
In response to the inquiry committee formed by the Municipal Corporation in this scam, Chandkheda corporator Rajshree Kesari asked a sharp question to the mayor and the Municipal Commissioner, “If the people who have been accused are in the inquiry committee, then what is the point of understanding it?”
Rajshree Kesari said that doctors have tampered with the lives of patients in the name of clinical trials. However, Dr. Cherry Shah is also included in the investigation committee. Action should be taken against all of them. Once Municipal Commissioner Banchanidhi Pani asked her to bring proof, the councilor flatly refused and said, “I have proof and I just want to meet you.”
Chandkheda ward councilor Rajshree Kesari said that three people have died in the clinical trial scam that came to light in VS Hospital.
Rajshree Kesari said in a conversation with the media, one of the three deaths occurred in VS Hospital. I am investigating the other two deaths that happened in VSK SVP Hospital. I will submit the details as soon as I get them.
During the discussion on clinical trials in V.S. Hospital in the Municipal Board meeting, Municipal Commissioner Banchanidhi Pani said, “When this scam started, these doctors were working among themselves.” No one was informed about this matter, including the then Municipal Commissioner, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Health-Hospital) or the Chairman of the VS Board. We do not want to leave anyone behind. An associate doctor has been suspended. Eight contract doctors have been dismissed. Apart from this, action has also been taken to issue a charge sheet to the then Medical Superintendent.
The Municipal Commissioner said that the guidelines of the Drugs Control General of the Government of India have been ignored, according to which the doctors of VS Hospital allowed clinical trials to pharmaceutical companies without approval. A thorough investigation will be conducted. The amount deposited by the doctors in their accounts will be recovered. Departmental action will be taken against all the culprits. The investigation will be completed within fifteen days.
Dr. Parul Shah
VS Hospital Superintendent Dr. Parul Shah confirmed the trial and said, “This clinical trial was going on before I became the superintendent.” Trials of four to five companies were going on. There was no ethics committee in the hospital. The doctors used to conduct the trial by forming a private committee. Such trials have been going on in the hospital since 2021. So far 56 trials have been conducted. Clinical trial registry of 50 patients was conducted in India. Dr. Devang Rana asked the superintendent to open an account, but I refused to open an account in my name. Devang Rana was asked to take permission from the board to open an account.
Important questions
1. Why did no one get a clue of this despite this case going on for four years?
2. Did the pharmaceutical companies make payments without the signatures of the head of the department, superintendent, dean, deputy municipal commissioner?
3. Why was no police complaint lodged against the suspended persons?
4. When will a police complaint be lodged against those who caused loss of crores of rupees to the municipal corporation’s treasury?
5. Why were only doctors working on contract suspended?
6. Why is the ethics committee not auditing the accounts of the last ten years?
7. Why is the ethics committee not investigating other municipal hospitals except V.S.?
8. Why is the details of how many medicines were tested on how many patients being hidden?
9. The details of how many patients were paid by the drug companies and how much amount was hidden were also made public.
10. The names of the drug companies providing the patients are not disclosed.
The doctors signed a memorandum of understanding in 2024.
In the municipal board meeting, a councilor of Chandkheda alleged that VS Hospital’s
The doctors had signed an MoU with S4 Research Pvt. Ltd. Ltd. was duped in the name of clinical trials. The share of the project was also stipulated in the MoU signed on 29 November 2024.
Whose share is how much?
Section Percentage
Institutional Share – 40
Principal Investigator – 40
Deputy Investigator – 15
Remuneration Medical Superintendent – 2
Remuneration Dean – 2
Ethics Committee – 1
Despite this shameful thing, ethical committees have not been formed to monitor clinical trials in government and municipal corporation-run hospitals in Gujarat.
Non-existent. In the name of treatment of poor patients, a systematic scam is being done in the name of clinical trials with the connivance of pharma
companies and doctors. If this entire matter is investigated impartially, the irregularities going on in government and municipal corporation-run hospitals can be exposed.
Patients are not given information about the side effects of the medicine. Useful medicines for various diseases are tested on animals and humans before bringing them to the market. It is mandatory to get approval from the ethical committee before testing a drug on humans. Apart from this, the ethical committee also monitors the clinical trials conducted on patients in hospitals. During clinical trials, special care is taken to ensure that the patient does not have any side effects from the drug. It is also mandatory to inform the patient about the side effects of the drug. But unfortunately, poor patients are being pressured to take the drug under the guise of money. Also, patients are kept unaware of all these things.
Doctors are earning a lot of money in the name of clinical trials in hospitals in the name of free treatment. Questions have also been raised about the existence of ethical committees in hospitals run by government-municipal corporations. Once a drug has been tested on a person, he cannot participate in clinical trials for six months. However, information has come to light that clinical trials have been conducted repeatedly on the same person. Doctors are also conducting clinical trials randomly in order to earn money.
Apart from this, poor patients are also not aware that they will have any side effects from the medicine or they will die. Pharma companies do not need to pay huge compensation to keep patients ignorant about this. Medical representatives and middlemen of the pharma company play games in hospitals. They go to the wards and involve poor patients in clinical trials in the name of free treatment in addition to the greed for money. Thus, a scam is being done in a systematic way in the name of clinical trials in Gujarat.
Payment of 10 thousand to patients
Clinical trials are conducted to test the effectiveness of medicines used for various diseases. Not only this, pharma companies pay the patient according to the dosage of the medicine depending on the disease. It has been found that the fee paid for clinical trials ranges from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. Due to poverty and unemployment, patients ignore the disadvantages of clinical trials in greed for money, which is beneficial for pharmaceutical companies.
The vessel burst due to non-receipt of money. The patient participated in the clinical trial but the pharma company did not pay the money. Due to this, the poor patient complained to Congress councilor Rajshree Kesari. Muni in this matter. Its complaint was made to the commissioner. The commissioner assured to form an inquiry committee. At the end of the investigation, the whole truth of the clinical trial going on in VS Hospital was revealed.
How is the test done?
Any pharmaceutical company first tests its new product on animals. After which their products are tested on patients of that disease. Before testing on patients, they have to get approval from the National Medical Council, the ethical committee of the hospital and the patient. There are 4 phases of clinical trials. The safety of the drug to be tested is checked first. The second phase is to see the effectiveness. In the third phase, the drug being developed is compared with the similar drug currently available in the market, and in the fourth phase, the effectiveness and side effects of the new drug are tested after it comes to the market.
In the clinical trial, the patient is given complete information, and all the information is also given to the patient’s family. The advantages and disadvantages of this trial are also mentioned, how the organization will help in case of any future loss, and information about compensation in case of death of the patient in future is also given. A mandatory ethical committee should be formed at the place where the clinical trial is to be conducted. This committee consists of a subject expert, a scientist, a common man, a lawyer, a social worker, a pharmacist and all these are people who have to undergo special training to become a member of the ethical committee. (Google translation from Gujarati)
