FIR against Trehan

New Delhi, May 23 (UNI) In a new twist to the stand-off between cardiologist Naresh Trehan and the Escorts hospital, the management has registered a case of ''trespassing'' and ''vandalism'' against the eminent doctor and his staff.

''We had filed a written complaint with the New Friends Colony police station. The complaint was about trespassing and disturbing peace in the hospital against some former employees on Saturday. Dr Trehan had helped these people to gain entry in the hospital,'' Head of Operations Escorts and Fortis CEO Daljit Singh said.

''The complaint was filed after Dr Trehan and his supporters forcefully entered the hospital and his supporters broke upon his chamber on May 19,'' he added.

The FIR names Dr Trehan's administrative staff Jugal Sharma and K S Sehgal, who were recently sacked, and Anil Khoobchandani, former legal advisor, who had quit the hospital two months ago.

On May 18, the hospital management, under instructions from Fortis Healthcare, which owns 90 per cent of stake in Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre (EHIRC), removed Dr Trehan and his support staff citing "conflict of interest".

Dr Trehan, who is 10 per cent stake holder in Escorts, said the move of the management to stop him or his staff from entering the hospital was against the high court judgement that allowed him unrestricted access.

''They are stopping my staff, how can I work in the hospital? They are doing it deliberately even after the Delhi High Court gave us unrestricted entry till August 6,'' the cardiologist told reporters.

''I am still a ten per cent stakeholder in the company. They have no legal ground to sack me. I am a doctor first. It is my moral duty to attend to my patients,'' he added.

Yesterday, two staff members of the hospital, loyal to Dr Trehan, were prevented from entering the institute as they were dismissed on May 18.

Mr Shivinder Mohan Singh, managing director, Escorts and Fortis Healthcare, said,''Over the past 18 months, Dr Trehan has been increasingly focussed on the Rs 1000 crore Medicity project at Gurgaon. It was a clear case of conflict of interest as he continued to concentrate more on his personal project.'' Meanwhile, the Management in advertisements in national dailies clarified that the Hospital was continuing to function as per schedule and steps were taken to ensure that patients did not face inconvenience.

It said Dr Trehan has privately harboured aspirations to owning the institution completely.

''When these ambitions could not materialise and Fortis bought Escorts he decided to pursue a parallel project and had been consistently using the privileges and resources of EHIRC for private gains,'' it alleged.

''A hospital's not anyone's fiefdom...he has always been very patronizing and it has to his way and no other way. He does not like to discuss, he only dictates,'' it said.

UNI