Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a heart specialist posted at the Saifai Medical University in Etawah district for allegedly implanting substandard pacemakers in more than 600 patients between 2017 and 2021. Sources said around 200 of the patients died. Cardiologist Dr Sameer Sarraf has been accused of overcharging patients, financial irregularities and using substandard pacemakers.
Confirming the arrest, Sanjay Kumar, senior superintendent of police (SSP), said: “The accused has been identified as Dr Sameer Sarraf, who is facing charges for implanting substandard pacemakers, financial irregularities and others. He was produced before the special court in Lucknow that deals with the cases lodged under Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.”
Since his arrest, Sarraf’s patients have been coming forward against the cardiologist.
Mohammed Tahir, a lawyer by profession, said he lost his wife following the implantation of a substandard pacemaker. Tahir got his wife Bibi Reshma admitted at the Saifai Medical University in June 2019 as she was experiencing weakness.
“After getting her admitted, I went home to bring some of her belongings. In our absence and without taking our consent, the doctors took my wife to the operation theatre (OT) and got her temporary pacemaker implantation (TPI) done. When we returned, we found Reshma missing. On enquiring, we came to know that she has been shifted to the ICU. Dr Sameer Sarraf told us that she was critical, hence the TPI has been done. I told him that I would take her to Delhi and I don’t want any treatment now. He said now you can’t take her anywhere, it’s better to complete the entire process of pacemaker implantation if you want her alive,” Tahir told News18.
Tahir said the doctors charged him around Rs 1.85 lakh for the pacemaker and handed him a receipt of a firm from Kanpur. On June 14, 2019, the doctor discharged Reshma after implanting the pacemaker.
“I was told by Dr Sarraf that the life of a pacemaker is at least 20 years. But, within two months of implantation, the pacemaker went kaput. On August 24, 2019, Reshma was rushed to Saifai Medical College again where she was stated to be critical. The doctors then replaced the pacemaker, and after five days, on August 29, 2019, she was referred to another hospital. But we took her to Delhi’s Holy Family Hospital where she stayed in coma for 13 days and was discharged on September 10, 2019.”
“We consulted another cardiologist and they said that the pacemaker failure resulted in her health deteriorating. She breathed her last on October 9, 2019. She was killed for a petty amount. Allah unhe (Dr Sarraf) kabhi maaf nahi karega. They claimed the life of my innocent wife,” Tahir said.
Explaining the functioning of a pacemaker, Dr Subhash Chandra, a cardiologist from Saifai Medical University, said the small electrical device is implanted in the chest or abdomen, and is used to treat some abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) that can cause the heart to either beat too slowly or miss beats. Some pacemakers can also help the chambers of the heart beat in sync. Chandra said the life of the pacemaker is around 10 years after which its battery can be replaced.
Station House Officer (SHO), Saifai Police Station, Mohd Kaamil led the police team to the medical university where the doctor was arrested following inquiry conducted by Etawah’s deputy SP, Nagendra Chaubey.
It came to light that after frequent complaints against Dr Sarraf about the implantation of substandard pacemakers in 2021, the vice chancellor of the medical university, Prof Raj Kumar, ordered an inquiry, which revealed that the devices were locally sourced at extremely low prices. Based on these findings, the then chief medical superintendent of the Saifai medical college Dr Adesh Kumar formally complained to the police in December 2021, after which the investigation against the cardiologist and others began in February 2022. He was eventually suspended when the investigation began.
Dr Sarraf, who was an assistant professor with the university, also travelled overseas five times with his family and the trips were allegedly sponsored by companies he was buying the substandard equipment from.
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