Mumbai: The Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai was recently in the news when Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan got admitted there after a knife attack by an an intruder at his home. For years now, this Hospital has been the favoured destination for the who’s who in Mumbai, seeking quality treatment. And now, it is in the news again, but for all the wrong reasons.
The Lilavati Hospital Trust, on Tuesday, got an FIR registered against 17 people, including seven former trustees, equipment suppliers and vendors, for allegedly embezzling Rs 1,250 crore over the last 20 years. The alleged accused indulged in gross wrongdoings while they were in control, Param Vir Singh, former commissioner of Mumbai Police, told the media. He is now the executive director of Lilavati Hospital. Most of the accused are based in Dubai and Belgium.
“The current board of trustees, after taking charge, roped in a forensic auditor, and financial irregularities worth nearly Rs 1,250 crore surfaced. After this, Prashant Kishore Mehta, a permanent trustee in Lilavati Hospital, approached the Bandra police. However, they refused to file an FIR. Mehta then approached a Bandra court and filed a complaint regarding the fraud. The court directed the Bandra police station to register a an FIR under section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Finally, the Bandra police have registered an FIR. The matter may soon be transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW),” Singh said.
According to the FIR, the accused, while working as trustees in the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT), in connivance with other accused companies, as well as their directors, adopted unfair means while purchasing medical equipment, furniture, paintings, computers, medical and legal books, office equipment, electrical equipment, vehicles and ambulances, land and building, surgical consumables and other items.
Singh claimed that this is the third FIR registered against the former trustees. “The first FIR was lodged in July 2024 with the Bandra police station on charges of cheating and forgery involving Rs 12 crore. The second FIR was lodged in December 2024 on the directions of the Bandra court for allegedly syphoning of funds worth Rs 44 crore on the pretext of paying legal fees,” he said.
