V S Hospital case: Suspended doctor claims theft of clinical trial documents from office
Updated: Apr 24th, 2025
In a significant revelation following the alleged exposure of unethical clinical trials at V S Hospital in Ahmedabad, one of the suspended doctors, Dr Devang Rana, had mentioned in a letter to the civic chief that documents related to clinical trials were stolen from his office.
The letter, written on January 25, 2025, addressed to the municipal commissioner mentions that mental harassment Dr Rana faced.
He wrote that he had filed a complaint with the dean regarding theft, spying, and irregularities. Files related to clinical trials, important documents, and even scrap material were allegedly stolen from his office.
He claimed that he had requested to view the CCTV footage for the past three months, but was denied — allegedly to protect specific individuals for personal gain. When he reportedly filed a police complaint about the theft, he was pressured to withdraw the complaint and apologise in writing, which caused him severe mental stress, as per the letter.
He further alleged that he was being threatened with suspension and transfer without any valid reason, worsening his mental distress. He also mentioned being coerced into apologising to Dr Karan Shah and Dr Darshana, as well as to the principal investigator.
Allegations made by Dr Devang Rana
- The dean favoured Dr Karan Shah.
- As per MCI Postgraduate Regulations 2000, Dr Rana claims he was eligible for promotion to Associate Professor, but Dr Karan Shah was promoted instead.
- While Dr Rana was in charge of the Ethics Committee, Dr Falguni Majmudar insisted on following SOPs. The sponsor was supposed to deposit funds into the ethics committee’s account, to be distributed as follows: 55% to the principal investigator, 40% to AMC MET, 2% to the dean, 2% to the medical superintendent, and 1% to the member secretary.
- College authorities learned only after four years that all financial dealings from sponsors were handled by the SMO.
- Despite no instructions from previous office bearers, Dr Rana claims he continued signing all legal documents and contracts related to clinical trials on behalf of all stakeholders, including investigators, sponsors, the dean, SMO, and the Ethics Committee.
Eight doctors summoned
Eight doctors were summoned by the committee formed by the AMC to probe the matter, to respond regarding the contract given in the clinical trial controversy. Seven doctors were present, while on behalf of Dr Rohan Patel, his father was present.
The doctors who responded were Dr Yatri Patel, psychiatrist Dr Dhaivat Shukla, MD Rajvi Patel, skin specialist Dr Kunal Sathwara, surgeon Dr Shalin Shah, diabetologist Dr Darshil Shah, and urologist Dr Kandarp Shah, according to sources.
Nine V S Hospital doctors suspended
AMC suspended nine doctors after allegations surfaced over serious irregularities in clinical trials conducted at the civic body-run hospital, officials said on Tuesday.
The action follows claims that the doctors bypassed legal procedures and misappropriated funds meant for the hospital.
According to officials, instead of setting up a legally mandated Ethics Committee, the doctors formed an unofficial internal panel to carry out clinical trials.
The issue came to light after Congress councillor Rajshree Kesari alleged that at least three patients had died over the past four years due to unauthorised clinical trials conducted on more than 500 patients at the hospital.
Following a preliminary probe, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel confirmed that Dr Rana and eight other doctors had been suspended.
“Normally, clinical trial income is split between doctors and the hospital. But in this case, the entire amount was pocketed by the doctors,” the minister said.
He added that while Dr Rana was a permanent employee, the other eight were on contractual appointments.
Dr Devang Rana, an MD in pharmacology, was appointed associate professor at the NHL Municipal Medical College and was appointed head of clinical trials at the V S Hospital in 2021.
The hospital’s current Superintendent, Parul Shah, distanced herself from the controversy, saying that the trials began under her predecessor Manish Patel.
An internal inquiry by the AMC is still underway, and further action will be taken based on its findings.
In 2013, the hospital faced a significant scandal involving the manipulation of receipt books. Staff members were found to have artificially inflated charges on official receipts, pocketing the difference.
This malpractice came to light when missing receipt books spanning over two years were discovered, prompting an investigation by the AMC’s Vigilance wing.
A decade later, in 2024, the hospital was implicated in an ₹ 8 crore Provident Fund (PF) scam. The PF Commissioner imposed a penalty on the institution due to unauthorised investments made by the then medical superintendent S Malhan.
Despite repeated demands for a police investigation, the matter was allowed to lapse, raising concerns about administrative accountability.
More recently, in 2025, a massive clinical trial scam was uncovered. More than 500 patients were subjected to unauthorised drug trials conducted by a group of doctors in collaboration with more than 50 pharmaceutical companies.
These trials were carried out without proper ethical oversight, and payments from the companies were allegedly diverted into the personal accounts of the doctors involved.
(With inputs from syndicated feed)
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