Pune l Our Doctors Do Not Ask For Deposits, But Dr. Ghaisas Demanded ₹10 Lakh Advance Payment: Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital Finally Admits Mistake After Pregnant Woman's Death

As the issue of the death of a pregnant woman after she was denied admission for not being able to pay an advance payment of ₹10 lakh continues to flare up in Pune, Dr. Dhananjay Kelkar, Medical Director of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, on Monday, finally admitted that the consulting gynaecologist, Dr. Sushrut Ghaisas, indeed asked for it.

Our doctors do not ask for a deposit: Kelakar

"Our doctors do not ask for a deposit from any patient because we do not have such a system. The hospital provides an estimate of the expenses to each patient. There is no system to require a deposit in this regard. For some reason, Rahu-Ketu came into his head that day, and Dr. Ghaisas wrote a deposit of ₹10 lakh. This is true. But you can ask any of these (attending doctors), no deposit is asked from the patients. I have performed countless surgeries till now, but I have never written such a prescription to anyone so far," explained Dr. Dhananjay Kelkar, Medical Director of the hospital.

Although Kelkar refuted that the hospital demands advance payment, the hospital administration announced on Saturday that they will no longer take advance payments.

#WATCH | A pregnant woman, Tanisha Bhise died allegedly after Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune denied her treatment over lack of money.

NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule says, "It's a very painful and sad incident. I am going to go and meet the family. We are taking this up. We don't… pic.twitter.com/vzUzMx98Dv

— ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2025

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Several women workers of Pune BJP unit stormed and vandalised the private clinic run by the doctor who was handling the case of Tanisha Bhise, a pregnant woman who died after being allegedly denied treatment at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital due to lack of… pic.twitter.com/yESqHwiRp5

— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2025

Here's why Dr Ghaisas resigned

Meanwhile, Kelkar also informed that Dr. Ghaisas has tendered his resignation. Dr. Ghaisas cited intense public anger, social media backlash, and threat calls as reasons for stepping down.

The hospital has been in the eye of the storm following the death of Tanisha Bhise, wife of the personal secretary of BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe, who was allegedly refused admission over non-payment of a ₹10 lakh deposit. She later died at another facility after giving birth to twin daughters.

Family members of the deceased woman have accused Dr. Ghaisas of seeking the deposit ahead of admission.

Dr. Kelkar said, "In his resignation letter, Dr. Ghaisas stated that he is under tremendous mental pressure due to public outrage, criticism, and threats. He fears this will impact his ability to treat other patients and may also compromise the safety of his family. To avoid injustice to his work, he has decided to resign." The hospital administration has forwarded the resignation to its trustees, and it is expected that it will be accepted, he said, adding that Dr. Ghaisas will complete his scheduled surgeries and work until Thursday.

Amid mounting anger over the incident, members of the BJP's women's wing allegedly stormed into the clinic run by Dr. Ghaisas's mother in Kothrud last week and damaged property, police said.

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