“A total of Rs 1,87,31,000 was found deposited in the bank accounts of 15 doctors at VS Hospital of which Rs 3.25 lakh was in the account of a former Medical Superintendent, Rs 56.04 lakh in the account of an Associate Professor, and Rs 91.83 lakh in the account of another doctor. Amounts ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 4 lakh were found deposited in the personal bank accounts of 12 other doctors,” Manish Trivedi, director of AMC Medical Education Trust (AMCMET) and member of the probe panel, told The Indian Express.

“During this time, only Rs 10.63 lakh was deposited in the bank account of VS General Hospital,” Trivedi said. The panel also comprised NHL Medical College Dean Dr Cherry Shah, VS Hospital Pharmacology HOD Dr Supriya Malhotra, VS Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Parul Shah and AMC Vigilance Director Hina Bhathawala.

According to regulations, all the money received from pharmaceutical companies and clinical research firms for clinical trials has to be deposited in the hospital’s bank account first and then distributed among the doctors involved.

The probe also found alleged deviations in clinical trial agreements signed on behalf of VS General Hospital during the period under scrutiny. “In 58 agreements, the pro-forma are different, with different sets of terms and agreements. There is no clarity in the financial distribution part,” said Trivedi.

VS Hospital is located in the Paldi area of Ahmedabad and offers subsidised medical treatment to a large number of the poor who stay in the city and on its outskirts.

According to records, the trials conducted or underway between 2021 and 2025 include drug interventions and bioequivalence studies as well as post-marketing surveillance of drugs already introduced in the market. These include studies for diabetes, obesity, lupus, skin infections and cardiac treatments. Most of these clinical trials are multi-centric, which are held in multiple sites at the same time, and some involve sites in other countries.

The AMC has not yet found any reason to believe that patients enrolled in these trials had suffered due to the irregularities, an official said. However, several senior doctors, who have been principal investigators in key clinical trials, told The Indian Express “a measured call will have to be taken” on the status of patients involved since the “unprecedented incident” has raised questions about not only the finances but also the clinical trials under scrutiny.

Of the 15 doctors, the Medical Superintendent, who is now retired, and the Associate Professor have been handed chargesheets, said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Bharat Parmar. An AMC-designated officer will hear the case over the next 3-4 months, and advise the civic body on further action, if any, Parmar said.

Of the other doctors, eight were dismissed from service in April, following the preliminary probe initiated following complaints raised by Rajshi Kesari, who is a Congress councillor at AMC. Five others had left their jobs before the investigation began.

Asked about the recovery of funds, AMCMET director Trivedi said, “The current Medical Superintendent of VS Hospital will issue notices to all the doctors, asking them to pay back the amounts they received for the clinical trials. If they do not do so, the AMC reserves the right to take further action for the recovery of the money.” Dr Parul Shah, the current Medical Superintendent, was not available for comment.

In April, the panel had found prima facie evidence that 58 clinical trials had been conducted with approval from “private” ethics committees since the hospital did not have one of its own after being decoupled from NHL Municipal Medical College in 2019-20.

In its final report, the committee said that starting January 1, 2021, a total of 65 clinical trials had either been registered with Clinical Trials Registry of India (CTRI) or listed in agreements signed with VS Hospital. Of the 65 trials, 48 had been completed, ten were underway and seven were yet to begin, for which agreements had been signed.

The trials included those of drugs and formulations from 34 different pharmaceutical companies and clinical research firms, and were being managed by eight Site Management Organisations (SMOs) who liaise between drug manufacturers and research organisations, and VS Hospital.

According to officials, the probe panel’s findings are based on proof, including bank transactions, provided by the SMOs involved. “SMOs maintain archival documents of the trials as well as medical aspects of one or more sites (hospitals) where a particular clinical trial is being conducted. They also have the responsibility of safekeeping these documents for a certain number of years,” said Trivedi, the AMCMET chief.

“Ultimately, when VS Hospital is chosen as a site, and the trial begins, invoices are generated from the hospital and given to SMOs who then take the money from pharma companies or research organisations and give it to the hospital or principal investigator of that trial,” he said.

“The SMOs helped the panel find the paper trail because in clinical trials, there are no cash transactions, everything is done by direct bank transfer. They gave us Unique Transaction Reference codes for all the transfers by which the committee tracked where the money had gone. We have taken their statements as well,” said Trivedi.

An AMC official confirmed that the 15 doctors accused of financial irregularities appeared before the committee and submitted their statements. The official said the AMC has also written to Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), which reverted with an opinion that financial irregularities had been found and an appropriate inquiry must be carried out.