A cheating case has been registered against a doctor for allegedly collecting a ₹5 crore deposit from a pharmacist to allow a pharmacy to operate inside a hospital, and then opening another pharmacy himself. The case has been filed at Sitabuldi police station. The accused is Dr Sameer Balswaroop Chaubey, director of Asian Kidney Hospital and Research Centre, located at Shankar Nagar Square. The complainant is Sameer Sawwalakhe (47), a pharmacy businessman residing at Jayanti Mansion in Manish Nagar. In 2019, Sawwalakhe entered into discussions with Dr Chaubey about setting up a pharmacy within the hospital premises to run his business.
According to the complaint, Dr Chaubey demanded a deposit of ₹5 crore for allowing the pharmacy. As it was not possible for Sawwalakhe to arrange such a large amount alone, he approached his friends for investment. Based on the assurance that the hospital pharmacy would generate a monthly business of ₹80–90 lakh, his friends agreed to invest. Sachin Makde invested ₹1.87 crore, Varun Kumar Chauhan invested ₹1.87 crore, Sameer Sawwalakhe invested ₹1 crore, and Deepak Singh invested ₹25 lakh. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Dr Chaubey and Sawwalakhe on September 21, 2019.
As per the agreement, the ₹5 crore amount was to be treated as a deposit, with 50 percent to be refunded when the pharmacy was vacated. It was also agreed that Dr Chaubey would ensure monthly business of ₹80–90 lakh, would not allow any other pharmacy inside the hospital, and would receive 18 percent of the pharmacy’s sales. Additionally, Sawwalakhe and his friends allegedly gave Dr Chaubey ₹14.45 lakh as a loan. However, Dr Chaubey allegedly violated the agreement by starting another pharmacy, causing Sawwalakhe’s business to decline and suffer losses, following which a police complaint was filed.