Fraud at ART Center in Pune, Maharahstr, India

[Guest guest]

Two arrests in two days, Sassoon in dock

Pune, September 2: The Sassoon General Hospital is making news for all the wrong

reasons. On Friday, the Bund garden police arrested Ashok Shrirang Mane, senior

assistant with the Sassoon General Hospital, for issuing fake disability

certificates. And on Saturday, Rajesh Sahadu Jathar, data manager-cum-accountant

with Sassoon’s Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Centre, was nabbed on the charge of

misappropriating money.

According to the Bundgarden police, Jathar was appointed on a contractual basis

on March 1, 2005 and was responsible for maintainance of accounts. He allegedly

forged signatures on 23 blank cheques, deposited them in the bank accounts in

his name as well as his father’s at Bank of Baroda on Station Road and withdrew

over 1.71 lakh.

Meanwhile, Communication Officer, Udaan Trust, Dhirendra Rawat in a release

issued on Sunday stated that the ART Centre was established with the objective

of providing treatment to HIV-affected. “It is the duty of the centre to make

available ART medicine to patients free of cost. The Central and the State

governments are spending crores of rupees on HIV/AIDS care and treatment.” He

said it was shocking to note that the money which was supposed to be utilised

for procuring medicine was being misused by Sassoon officials.

Activist Vijay Nair, one of the founder-member of Udaan, said, “When there are

three doctors authorised to handle Sassoon ART Centre account, then how could

one accountant withdraw the amount with his signature.” Condemning the

incident, human rights activist advocate Asim Sarode termed it a corruption case

violating the health rights of

HIV/ AIDS patients.

“The arrests highlight the failure of government strategy in combating AIDS. The

Sassoon ART centre always declares that there is no stock of medicines which

itself is violative of the HIV patients’ fundamental right to life.”

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=254252

__________________

Nipasha " <nipasha@...>