THE BOGUS DOCTOR SCANDAL A DARK CHAPTER THAT THE RIBBON CANNOT ERASE MT AGRAWAL HOSPITAL: A RIBBON-CUTTING RUSH, A SCAM UNANSWERED

NEWS ANALYSIS | Mulund, Mumbai | 14 December 2025

As Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections knock at the door, the long-delayed redevelopment of Smt. Mansadevi Tulsiram Agrawal Municipal Hospital, Mulund (West) is suddenly finding urgency. The hospital is scheduled for inauguration tomorrow - a timing critics describe as politically convenient rather than administratively credible.

Behind the celebratory banners lies a troubling trail of tender controversies, ballooning public expenditure, and a grave criminal case involving bogus doctors and patient deaths — issues that no ribbon-cutting ceremony can erase.

From Public Hospital to Political Showcase

Established in 1958 as a modest 25-bed civic hospital, MT Agrawal eventually expanded to around 110 beds before being declared structurally unsafe in 2015. What followed was nearly a decade of stalled redevelopment, scrapped tenders, cost escalations and shifting deadlines.

While BMC budgets around 2020–21 projected approximately ₹457 crore for redevelopment, RTI activists and civic watchdogs now allege that cumulative expenditure — including allied contracts and extensions — may have crossed ₹1,500 crore, though the corporation has yet to publish an audited, consolidated figure.

Repeated tender cancellations, contractor changes and delayed execution ensured that real construction momentum began only after 2021 — making the sudden “completion” just days before elections raise serious eyebrows.

Tender Maze and the Shadow of Privatisation

The hospital has remained at the centre of a persistent privatisation debate. In early 2025, BMC floated Public-Private Partnership (PPP) linked tenders for several hospitals, including MT Agrawal. While officials later denied a full-scale PPP takeover, documents indicate a “Civic Health Collaboration Model” under which private players will operate diagnostics, dialysis, blood bank and specialised services.

Healthcare activists argue this is privatisation by another name — one that risks converting a civic hospital meant for the poor into a pay-per-service facility, creating a two-tier healthcare system.

Bogus Doctor Scam: A Crime Still Unresolved

Far more disturbing than administrative delays is the bogus doctor scandal registered as FIR No. 298/2023 at Mulund Police Station — a case that continues to haunt the hospital.

Investigative records reveal that unqualified and unregistered individuals were deployed in emergency and ICU wards through a private trust. These individuals allegedly:

• Lacked valid MMC/MCI registration

• Used forged or mismatched certificates

• Treated critically ill patients

• Signed death certificates later countersigned by BMC doctors

Verification records are damning:

• Of 190 doctors deployed, only 88 MMC certificates were available

• In another check, only 43 of 62 certificates were valid

• Payments were made to names not even listed on hospital rosters

WhatsApp chats mention “final-year MBBS” students being passed off as doctors — a chilling indication of deliberate deception.

Deaths, Dilution and Missing Evidence

The most explosive allegation remains that bogus doctors signed death certificates, raising the possibility of culpable homicide. Yet:

• Senior officials were cited as witnesses, not accused

• Serious IPC sections were allegedly diluted

• Forensic reports, CDRs and key digital evidence are missing

• Multiple investigative lapses flagged by the complainant remain unanswered

Election Optics Over Accountability?

With polling around the corner, opposition leaders and civic groups allege that the inauguration is designed to influence voters in T and S wards, where public healthcare remains a decisive issue.

The hospital reportedly remains understaffed and partially non-operational, prompting the question:Is this a healthcare milestone — or an election prop?

The Question That Won’t Go Away

Until accountability is fixed for fake doctors, deaths are transparently investigated, tender costs are audited, and affordable care is guaranteed, MT Agrawal Hospital will remain a symbol of institutional failure — not civic achievement.

A building can be inaugurated.Truth cannot be buried.