Doctor Who Ran Fake Clinic Back in Biz

In November 2023, south Delhi doctor Neeraj Agarwal was arrested after a first information report was filed against his medical facility, Agarwal Medical Centre, and several other complaints in cases that involved the deaths of 15 people.

- Hemani Bhandari

On October 25, 2023, the FIR was registered on charges of culpable homicide, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy, among other sections of the Indian Penal Code. Agarwal was arrested on November 14, 2023. He was given bail by the Delhi high court in August 2024.

Now out on bail, Agarwal appears to have not only reopened the Agarwal Medical Centre in GK-1 but also allegedly opened a second facility, Life Line Hospital in Kalkaji and returned to practicing medicine, according to visits, eyewitness statements, photographs and documents seen by HT.

When apprised of the matter, deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan said, "We are inquiring into the matter."

When contacted, Agarwal said that he was allowed to practice medicine and the hospital was being run by his father. "The lease is in my name but we have rented the premises to my father and he is running the hospital," he said.

When asked about the operations of Agarwal Medical Centre, he denied it was operational. "It's currently shut," he said.

HT saw the lease deed documents of the Kalkaji property, which were in the names of Neeraj Agarwal and his wife Pooja Agarwal, a high school graduate who was also arrested by police in 2023. The GK-1 property is also owned by Agarwal, according to police documents in the 2023 case.

Police said the GK-1 facility preyed on patients from lower-middle class backgrounds and operated on them dangerously, after the victims were lured by a combination of cheap prices and the credibility that came from being located in a South Delhi neighbourhood.

Other than the Agarwals, the police arrested Mahender Singh, their lab technician, and Jaspreet Singh Bajwa, a doctor who worked in a private hospital but allegedly prepared fake surgery notes.

After the arrests in 2023, the centre shut down.