False data, fraud, exploitation: J&Okay physician suspended over alleged pointless cardiac procedures
A heart specialist at Authorities Medical Faculty (GMC) Anantnag was suspended on Saturday after an official inquiry uncovered alleged large-scale medical irregularities, together with pointless cardiac procedures on sufferers who specialists stated didn’t require them and fraudulent claims below the PMJAY-SEHAT scheme.
The Jammu and Kashmir Well being and Medical Schooling Division named Dr Syed Maqbool, an affiliate professor of Cardiology deputed to GMC Anantnag, accusing him of manipulating official medical data, exploiting sufferers, making fraudulent insurance coverage claims and colluding with personal distributors, in response to information company PTI.
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What are the allegations in opposition to docs?
The allegations centre on an alleged pacemaker implantation rip-off involving 103 cardiac sufferers.
An skilled assessment discovered that 27 of the 55 sufferers who underwent superior Left Bundle Department Space Pacing (LBBAP) procedures had regular coronary heart perform and “there was completely no medical purpose to carry out such procedures”.
“Pending enquiry into his conduct, Dr Syed Maqbool Ahmad Shah, Affiliate Professor, Cardiology presently deputed to Authorities Medical Faculty, Anantnag, is hereby positioned below suspension, with instant impact by way of Rule 31 of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Providers (Classification, Management and Attraction) Guidelines, 1956,” an order, issued by Commissioner/Secretary, Well being and Medical Schooling Division, M Raju, stated.
The order stated that throughout the interval of suspension, the physician would stay hooked up to the workplace of Authorities Medical Faculty, Jammu, the PTI report added.
State Well being Minister Sakina Itoo stated the inquiry was initiated following a number of complaints in opposition to the heart specialist.
“The federal government had initiated the inquiry after receiving a number of complaints in order that information come to the fore. After the inquiry, when sure findings got here out, we suspended him. Now we have requested him to clarify his place,” Itoo advised reporters in Kulgam.
“At present, a suspension order has been issued. I attraction to each physician to not make compromises with the individuals’s lives. The federal government offers you a wage. This job is for the individuals, to assist in affected person care,” she stated, including, “the federal government is on it. Motion has been taken, and no matter must be executed will probably be executed”.
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Falsification of data, fraud, exploitation and extra
Based on the division, the fees in opposition to Maqbool embody falsification of data, system-wide fraud, exploitation of sufferers, collusion with personal distributors, unauthorised medical interventions and conduct unbecoming of a public servant.
“You booked and claimed 103 circumstances on the Transaction Administration System (TMS) below the ‘Twin Chamber Pacemaker Implantation’ bundle (Code: MC016A). Nonetheless, bodily data show you’ve got truly carried out Left Bundle Department Space Pacing (LBBAP).
This intentional misrepresentation was designed to siphon public welfare funds from the PMJAY/SEHAT scheme below a false scientific pretext,” the fees levelled by the division stated.
The inquiry discovered that the physician allegedly carried out invasive LBBAP procedures with out scientific justification. An impartial skilled analysis confirmed that 27 of the 55 suspected LBBAP circumstances — almost 49 per cent — concerned sufferers with utterly regular left ventricular perform and huge QRS morphology.
‘Full disregard for affected person’s security’
Performing such procedures on these sufferers confirmed “an entire disregard for affected person security {and professional} ethics for private motives”, in response to the memorandum issued by the Well being and Medical Schooling Division.
The findings emerged after the State Well being Company observed an uncommon spike in LBBAP-related claims from the establishment in December 2025 and ordered an skilled audit.
Maqbool has been directed to submit his written defence inside per week, failing which disciplinary proceedings could be carried out ex parte.
The inquiry additionally uncovered allegations of direct monetary exploitation of PMJAY-SEHAT beneficiaries.
“That you simply instantly violated absolutely the ‘cashless and free’ mandate of the PMJAY/SEHAT scheme and compelled susceptible sufferers to pay out-of-pocket bills for procedures executed inside a authorities facility,” the division accused the physician.
Citing one case, the division stated a affected person had been coerced into paying ₹70,000 to a personal firm.
“This monetary exploitation of public beneficiaries constitutes extreme prison misconduct,” it added.
The division additional alleged that Maqbool “intentionally bypassed” the institutional provide chain mechanism at GMC Anantnag.
“You did not supply required medical {hardware} by way of the obligatory path (vetted by the PMJAY part, countersigned by the Casualty Medical Officer, and fulfilled by the AMRIT Retailer). As an alternative, illegally collaborated with personal exterior distributors, successfully destroying hospital transparency, high quality management, and accountability protocols,” it stated.
The inquiry alleged that obligatory approvals, quality-control safeguards and procurement protocols have been ignored. It added that sure procurement data weren’t produced throughout the anti-fraud investigation, elevating considerations over potential concealment of proof.
Based on the memorandum, the State Anti-Fraud Unit obtained a number of alerts concerning suspected out-of-pocket expenditures incurred by poor sufferers at GMC Anantnag. On December 19, 2025, a SAFU workforce carried out an unannounced inspection and interviewed the Medical Superintendent, Cath Lab In-charge, Accounts Part and the In-charge of the AMRIT Retailer.
The division alleged that though hospital protocol required the heart specialist to generate a requisition, the accused bypassed the method.
Affected person pressured to pay 70,000 from his pocket
Referring to the case of affected person Peer Rafiq Ahmad, the memorandum stated a beneficiary audit and residential go to confirmed that he had been pressured to pay ₹70,000 from his personal pocket.
Cross-checking on-line TMS claims with the bodily Cath Lab Process Register revealed that LBBAP procedures had been carried out whereas funds have been claimed for dual-chamber pacemaker implantations.
Following an uncommon spike in LBBAP circumstances, the State Well being Company referred the matter to the Head of Division of Cardiology at SKIMS, Soura, for skilled assessment.
“There was completely no medical purpose to carry out LBBAP on these 27 people. Consequently, the SHA rejected these fraudulent claims,” it added.
The federal government has proposed to provoke departmental proceedings in opposition to Maqbool below the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Providers (Classification, Management and Attraction) Guidelines, 1956.
