Ahmedabad: Kartik Patel, the owner of Khyati Hospital and one of the accused in the angioplasty deaths case, is hiding in Dubai, senior police officers said.
"Kartik Patel went to Australia on Nov 3 from where he fled to Dubai," said a senior crime branch officer. Regarding the investigation, he said that they will rope in a chartered accountant to analyse the accounts of the hospital, which earned at least Rs 22 crore from the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana by performing angioplasties.
Investigations into the Nov 11 angioplasty deaths of two patients from Mehsana's Borisana village — Mahesh Barot, 52, and Nagar Senma, 72 — led police to three more deaths at the hospital over the past 18 months. All three deceased patients were from Kadi and were informed about blockages in their arteries at the health camps conducted in their villages.
On Nov 25, the crime branch arrested four accused persons from a farm near Kapadvanj in Kheda district — Chirag Rajput, the hospital's director (marketing and branding), and his aides Rahul Jain, the hospital's CEO, and associates Milind Patel, Pankil Patel and Pratik Bhatt.
Milind Patel was responsible for arranging camps and liaising with general physicians in Ahmedabad and surrounding districts to refer patients to Khyati Hospital, and Pankil Patel and Pratik Bhatt, who conducted camps and encouraged people to undergo medical procedures.
The deaths of Borisana residents, Barot and Senma, on Nov 11 brought the racket to light. It was alleged in the FIR that neither of them required angioplasty. On Nov 13, three FIRs were filed with Vastrapur police station against Khyati Hospital's director Kartik Patel, Dr Prashant Vazirani, Dr Sanjay Patolia, Rajshree Kothari and Chirag Rajput. They are accused of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.
Meanwhile, the crime branch on Friday conducted a search operation at Rajput's home in Makarba. Police have also questioned PM-JAY officials, who were on deputation, regarding their role in approving PM-JAY applications.