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NASHIK: The Mhasrool police registered a case against civil hospital gynaecologist , Varsha Lahade late on Saturday night for allegedly running a private hospital without the required permissions.

The doctor has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including forgery, cheating, furnishing false information and other sections of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, violation of Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act.

Vijay Dekate, medical officer of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), stated in his compliant that the gynaecologist was running a private hospital named 'Prayag' by forging documents. He further stated that the act amounted to cheating. Further, the gynaecologist had also illegally maintained stock of medicines and other equipments for medical termination of pregnancy.

Apart from this, the NMC's medical team also found medicines that had crossed expiry date. Staff at the hospital also deterred the team from doing their duty when they raided the hospital after the case of alleged illegal abortion came to fore at the civil hospital.

Senior NMC officials said they had registered a complaint against the doctor for running a private hospital illegally with fake documents which accounts for cheating and forgery and violation of the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act. The doctor has also been booked for keeping medicine and other equipments for medical termination of pregnancy illegally under sections of the MPT Act.

The officials said they were waiting for directives from higher authorities regarding pressing charge of illegal abortion at the Nashik civil hospital against the doctor.

Senior police inspector Narendra Pingle of Mhasrool police station said the gynaecologist was not in the city and not been arrested.

In the meantime, the officials said they were planning to seal the private hospital. "Our team had been to the hospital to seal it on Saturday. However, since the doctor was not present at that time, we could not seal it."

The doctor has already been suspended for allegedly carrying out medical termination of pregnancy of a 24-week foetus at the Nashik civil hospital on March 22 this year.

The special squad of NMC had exposed the illegal abortion after it raided the civil hospital on March 22 following a tip-off. The patient, hailing from Pimpalgaon Baswant in Nashik district, was admitted in the hospital on March 21. And after undergoing MTP the next day, the patient was allowed to go home on that same day after few hours.

The state health department had carried out two separate investigations to verify allegations against the doctor.

While one probe team consisted of a five members including two gynaecologists from other districts, civil surgeon from Dhule, a radiologist and the deputy director of health, the other investigation was carried out by additional director of state medical services (family welfare) Dr Archana Patil . In both these probes, the findings of the teams highlighted the violations of the MTP Act, PCPNDT Act and forgery of documents.

