Pune: Police are investigating 16 serving and retired employees of Sassoon General Hospital and Baramati Medical College , who include an accountant and a woman cashier, and eight private individuals for an alleged embezzlement of Rs4.19 crore. They are accused of siphoning the hospital funds to 24 private accounts between July 31, 2023 and January 24 this year.
Deputy commissioner of police (zone II) Smartana Patil said the Bund Garden police on Saturday registered a case of cheating, criminal breach of trust and common intention under sections of the Indian Penal Code following a complaint lodged by the hospital's administrative officer Goroba Awate (55). "The probe has been handed to the economic offences wing (EOW)." BJ Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon hospital 's dean Dr Eknath Pawar said 11 employees from BJMC and four from Baramati Medical College had been suspended after they were found to be involved in this fraud .
"These 15 were working at Sassoon hospital when the embezzlement took place. They are an office superintendent, seven clerical staffers, one medical social worker, one ward boy, and five nurses. The suspension orders have been issued by the medical education department until an enquiry is completed," he said.
Dr Pawar said preliminary enquiry showed the staff had bypassed the dean's approval before passing bills. "The 16th person, who was then active in the hospital's administrative work, had retired from service. Eight other people, who are not at all .