In a significant development, Dr. Vinayak Kale, dean of Pune's Sassoon Government Hospital, has been placed on compulsory leave. Dr. Chandrakant Mhaske, dean of Ahilya Devi Holkar Government Medical College in Baramati, has been given additional charge of the hospital. This change follows scrutiny over the Sassoon Government Hospital for allegedly tampering with blood samples of the accused in the May 19 Porsche accident that killed two IT professionals.
Earlier, Pune Police arrested Dr. Taware, head of the hospital's forensic medicine department, chief medical officer Dr. Shrihari Halnor, and staff member Atul Ghatkamble for allegedly replacing the blood samples of the 17-year-old accused with those of another person who had no traces of alcohol.
These arrests sparked allegations of political interference from ruling party leaders. Dr. Kale has claimed that political figures were involved in appointing one of the accused doctors. At a press conference on Wednesday, Dr. Kale revealed that Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and MLA Sunil Tingre had written a letter requesting Dr. Ajay Tawade be appointed head of Sassoon Hospital's Forensic Medicine Department. Both Mushrif and Tingre are from the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, which governs Maharashtra in alliance with the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena.
Hours after the press conference, Dr. Kale was placed on compulsory leave by the Maharashtra government for failing to take the case seriously and not making proper decisions as dean.