Porsche case: Doctors' licences suspended for blood sample swap

Pune: Nearly a year after the Porsche car crash involving a teenage driver in Pune, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) on Monday suspended the licences of two doctors who were arrested for their alleged involvement in tampering with evidence in the case.

Dr Ajay Taware and Dr Shrihari Halnor, working at government-run Sassoon General Hospital at the time of the incident, were accused of manipulating blood samples of the underage driver involved in the crash in which two software professionals were killed.

"After both doctors were booked for allegedly swapping the juvenile's blood samples with those of his mother, the MMC took suo motu (on its own) cognisance and sought an explanation from them.

"However, since they have been in (jail under) judicial custody, a personal hearing could not be held. Based on reports from various committees and the Pune police, the council has suspended their licences until the final outcome (of case) ," said Dr Vinky Rughwani, administrator of the MMC.

"Their licences to practice medicine have been suspended, and they are no longer permitted to treat patients," he maintained.

Apart from Dr Taware and Dr Halnor, a hospital staffer, Atul Ghatkamble, was also arrested in connection with the alleged blood sample swap, which according to police, was done to avoid detection of alcohol in the driver's body.

The case stems from a fatal crash on May 19 last year, when a Porsche car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol, ran over two IT professionals riding a motorcycle in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area.

The juvenile, son of a real estate developer, has since been released from an observation home.

However, ten other accused, including his parents Vishal and Shivani Agarwal, the two Sassoon doctors, hospital staffer Ghatkamble, two alleged middlemen and three others remain in judicial custody.