Delhi’s Medical Mafia: How Fake Doctors Turned a Clinic Into a Graveyard

New Delhi: Four individuals, including two doctors, a woman posing as a surgeon, and a former laboratory technician, were arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the deaths of two patients following botched surgeries at Agarwal Medical Centre, located in Delhi’s upscale Greater Kailash neighbourhood.

The arrests stem from an investigation initiated into the demise of Asghar Ali, a patient who underwent gallbladder surgery at the clinic in 2022. Initially assigned to Dr. Jaspreet Singh, the surgery was unexpectedly taken over by Pooja Agarwal and Mahender Singh just before the procedure commenced. Following the operation, Ali’s health deteriorated rapidly, and he was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Families of the deceased patients have levelled serious allegations against Dr. Neeraj Agarwal, the owner of Agarwal Medical Centre, and his associates, accusing them of performing surgeries on vital organs without adhering to established medical protocols. Moreover, the complainants claim that Dr. Agarwal, despite being a physician, engaged in surgeries using fraudulent documents.

A thorough investigation has uncovered nine complaints registered against Dr. Agarwal and Pooja since 2016, with seven cases resulting in patient fatalities due to medical negligence. A medical board convened on November 1 identified numerous shortcomings and deficiencies at the Agarwal Medical Centre. The probe also revealed Dr. Agarwal’s practice of falsifying documents related to patient treatment and surgery.

During the investigation, law enforcement authorities confiscated 414 prescription slips, two registers containing patient details for medical termination of pregnancy procedures, and unauthorized medications and injections. Additionally, expired surgical blades, original prescription slips, chequebooks from 47 banks, 54 ATM cards, passbooks from various post offices, and six POS terminal credit card machines were recovered from Agarwal’s residence and clinic.