Hyderabad: A group of senior specialist doctors have lodged a complaint with the Central Crime Station (CCS) alleging they were cheated of over Rs 38 crore by the former managing director of a private hospital in Banjara Hills in the guise of investing in his hospital venture.According to the complaint submitted by plastic surgeon Dr Chokka Rajesh Vasu on Tuesday against Dr Venugopal Kakuntla, they were lured into the investment with assured big returns, which never came their way. The team of 14 doctors – comprising cardiologists and urologists among others – also accused Dr Kakuntla of resorting to over-billing Covid-19 patients and diverting hospital funds to buy real estate and gold, in collision with his brother Hemanth Kakuntla.Based on their complaint, CCS police registered a case under Sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant, banker, merchant, agent), 477-A (falsification of accounts), r/w 120b (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC against Dr Kakuntla, his brother and others, and launched a probe.The doctors alleged that between 2014 and 2015, Dr Kakuntla, who was then the hospital MD, along with his brother Hemanth persuaded colleagues to buy equity in the hospital promising a transparent, doctor-controlled institution. Under the plan, promoter-directors were to retain 51% of Rs 2.2 crore shares priced at Rs 30 each, while the remaining 49% was to be allotted to investing doctors at Rs 50 per share.Subsequently, the doctors invested over Rs 38 crore – Dr Vasu (Rs 40 lakh), Dr KVR Prasad (Rs 10 crore), Dr Gangadhar and his family member (Rs 17 crore) and Dr Ravi Palwai (Rs 11 crore). The doctors claimed the accused raised Rs 100 crore (approx.) from various other doctors.But once the hospital operations began in 2015, they alleged that the brothers retained most of the equity and repeatedly declared annual losses of Rs 10 to Rs 20 crore despite healthy occupancy figures. According to them, patient payments were routinely routed to a jewellery outlet near the hospital, allegedly owned by a relative, to suppress hospital revenue.“They diverted investor money into the purchase of high-value real estate and large quantities of gold,” the complainant alleged.The petition further accused him of purchasing five lakh shares from one of the investors, Dr Prasad, by issuing a cheque of Rs 1 crore from the hospital’s account and later reclassifying the payment as “professional advance”, concealing the actual nature of the payment.During the surge in Covid-19 cases, bills of Rs 10 to Rs 20 lakh were allegedly raised per patient, even though hospital records showed far lesser amounts. Families who demanded receipts were “threatened and coerced to leave the hospital premises,” the complaint claimed.“The investigation is currently at a preliminary stage. We are verifying the allegations and the evidence available. Based on the preliminary probe findings, we will initiate appropriate legal action,” said a CCS official.
