Medical/forensic corruption: (Alleged switching of blood samples for cash): Pune, India: (A city in Maharashtra state in the Deccan plateau in Western India: Wikipedia): Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shrihari Halter (Sassoon Hospital), Forensic Medicine Department Head Dr. Ajay Aware, and others: A tale of two stories involving a tragic accident and alleged corruption said to implicate a prominent family and high level medical/forensic authorities.…"The doctor's suspension came a day after it was reported that he allegedly received Rs 3 lakh -- (I'm told that 3 Lakh amounts to roughly $3,600 U.S HL)-- from Ghatkamble, who worked under Taware. The men confessed to accepting the money after the police carried out a search and seized the cash from the premises of their official residences, according to police sources. Of the total amount, the Pune Crime Branch recovered Rs 2.5 lakh from Halnor and the remaining Rs 50,000 from Ghatkamble. However, there was no immediate information on how or where the cash was procured from."

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Two 'India Today' stories tell a fascinating story of  alleged corruption implicating  a prominent family and high level forensic  authorities. 

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 FIRST STORY:  India Today: May 24, 2024.

The first, published on May 24, 2024,  sets  out the basic facts of  a motor vehicle  incident. On May 19, a 17-year-old teenage boy  was allegedly  driving a Porsch  that rammed into a bike, immediately killing two  people. The teen happens to be son of a prominent real estate developer. The Pune Police Commissioner  announced  at a press conference that  an attempt had been made to shield the boy from culpability by pressuring the family driver to say he was driving the car and therefore responsible for the accident. As 'India Today' reports:  "There was an attempt to show that the accused was not driving the vehicle and someone else was driving, but they couldn't do that," Amitesh Kumar said. "We will take action under Section 201 (destruction of evidence) against those persons who tried to show that the accused juvenile was not driving the car and some adult driver was behind the wheels," the Pune police chief said." (How did the police know that the family had pinned blame on its driver? HL)"  India Today: " The police chief said CCTV footage showed the vehicle was taken out by the accused from his residence. "On the basis of technical and CCTV evidence, it is confirmed that the car was being driven by the juvenile," he said." In an interesting 'footnote' to the story,  the paper also reports that the  police commissioner also dismissed the opposition's allegations that the 17-year-old boy was served "pizzas and burgers" in custody following the incident which led to the deaths of two young IT professionals - Aneesh Awadhiya and his friend Ashwini Koshta.  "Amid an outrage over the incident, a Pune court cancelled the bail granted to the teen and ordered him to be sent to a juvenile centre." The story is far from over at this point as the reader will see from reading the following post: 

pune-porsche-crash-police-commissioner-accused-full-senses-aware-of-situation-2543256-2024-05-24

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THE SECOND STORY:  India Today: May 29: 2024.

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Before the minor's blood samples were collected, real estate developer and the teen driver's father, Vishal Agarwal, communicated with Dr Taware via WhatsApp, and FaceTime calls, as well as a single general call, police sources said, adding that there were 14 such calls in total. The calls were made between 8.30 am and 10.40 am on May 19 and the blood samples were taken at 11 am. The two doctors were arrested after the police said the teen's original blood sample was disposed of in a dustbin. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report showed no alcohol in the first blood sample, which raised suspicions. Later, a second blood test conducted at a different hospital and DNA tests confirmed the samples were from two different individuals. This led investigators to suspect that the doctors at the Sassoon General Hospital had tampered with the evidence to protect the accused juvenile."

STORY "Pune hospital's action against doctors who 'switched' teen driver's blood sample, by Reporter Divyesh Singh, published by India Today, on May 29, 2024."

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Vishal Agarwal and the minor's grandfather, Surendra Agrawal, are under custody until May 31."

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SUB-HEADING: "Dr Shrihari Halnor, who has been accused of manipulating the Pune teen driver's blood sample, was sacked by the city-based Sassoon Hospital."

SUB-HEADING:  "Shrihari Halnor and two others were arrested on Monday for tampering with evidence in the accident case."

In Short

• Chief Medical Officer Dr Shrihari Halnor dismissed by Sassoon Hospital
• Forensic Medicine department head Dr Ajay Taware suspended
• Dean Dr Vinayak Kale sent on compulsory leave

GIS: "Dr Shrihari Halnor, who has been accused of manipulating the blood sample of the teen driver involved in the horrific May 19 accident in Pune, was sacked by the city-based Sassoon General Hospital. 

Dr Halnor, the chief medical officer of the state-run hospital where the minor was taken for medical tests after the accident, was arrested on Monday.

Besides Halnor, Dr Ajay Taware, head of the hospital's Forensic Medicine department, and a staffer, Atul Ghatkamble, were also arrested. The hospital has suspended Dr Taware.

According to the police, Dr Halnor, who had taken the blood sample from the juvenile, revealed that he had changed the blood sample on the directions of Dr Taware.

THe Sassoon Hospital also took action against the Dean, Dr Vinayak Kale. He has been sent on compulsory leave in the wake of the developments.

The three arrested men are in police custody until Thursday.

The doctor's suspension came a day after it was reported that he allegedly received Rs 3 lakh from Ghatkamble, who worked under Taware. 

The men confessed to accepting the money after the police carried out a search and seized the cash from the premises of their official residences, according to police sources.

Of the total amount, the Pune Crime Branch recovered Rs 2.5 lakh from Halnor and the remaining Rs 50,000 from Ghatkamble.

However, there was no immediate information on how or where the cash was procured from.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MINOR'S FATHER AND DR TAWARE

Before the minor's blood samples were collected, real estate developer and the teen driver's father, Vishal Agarwal, communicated with Dr Taware via WhatsApp, and FaceTime calls, as well as a single general call, police sources said, adding that there were 14 such calls in total.

The calls were made between 8.30 am and 10.40 am on May 19 and the blood samples were taken at 11 am.

The two doctors were arrested after the police said the teen's original blood sample was disposed of in a dustbin.

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report showed no alcohol in the first blood sample, which raised suspicions.

Later, a second blood test conducted at a different hospital and DNA tests confirmed the samples were from two different individuals. This led investigators to suspect that the doctors at the Sassoon General Hospital had tampered with the evidence to protect the accused juvenile.

Vishal Agarwal and the minor's grandfather, Surendra Agrawal, are under custody until May 31."

The entire story can be read at:

 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pune-porsche-crash-sassoon-hospital-doctor-accused-manipulating-teen-blood-sample-sacked-2545239-2024-05-29

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan:Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801

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Andrew Malkinson: U.K. Major (Welcome) Development: ,The BBC announces a new documentary called 'The Wrong Man: 17 Years Behind Bars' which tells the story of his fight for freedom and justice. Official Press Release:…"Emma Loach, Lead Commissioning Editor, Documentaries, says: “This film describes one of the most terrible miscarriages of justice of our time. This was not only a devastating failure of the judicial system for Andrew, it has also neglected to bring justice for the victim of what was an appalling crime. The film goes behind the headlines and shows Andrew’s bravery and tenacity as he fights for his freedom and the terrible repercussions he is still facing today.”

BACKGROUND:  Case Timeline: The Guardian:

2003

A 33-year-old woman is raped and left for dead on a motorway embankment in Salford as she walks home. She recalls causing a “deep scratch” to her attacker’s face. Andrew Malkinson is visited by police officers the next day who see he has no scratch. He is arrested two weeks later and then picked out of a video lineup.

2004

Malkinson is convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison, despite no DNA evidence.

2006

Malkinson’s first appeal is refused.

2007

A male DNA profile in a “crime specific” location on the victim’s vest top that does not match Malkinson or the victim’s then boyfriend is uncovered in a nationwide review of the forensics used in historic rape and murder cases, called Operation Cube. Greater Manchester police and the Crown Prosecution Service are alerted. It is searched on a local section of the police database but no match found.

2008

A report into the new DNA discovery is written by the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in April.

2009

July: Malkinson applies to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to look at his case.

August: Case log entry by a CCRC staff member reads: “Read papers today … I am slightly bemused by the submissions … Just because it appears there is someone else’s DNA on the complainant’s vest, not [the boyfriend’s] or the applicant’s, cannot surely produce a successful referral in view of all the other strong ID evidence.”

December: Greater Manchester police and the Crown Prosecution Service meet forensic scientists at the FSS to discuss the DNA development. It is acknowledged that the location of the DNA on the vest top is “crime specific” but no further work is commissioned.

A meeting log confirms the forensic scientist on the case recommends that Y-STR testing, which isolates the male chromosome (as commissioned by Malkinson’s lawyers a decade later), could be done to get a clearer result but the CPS advises against it.

The then head of the CPS’s complex casework in Manchester advised that unless there was an appeal “he did not see that there was a need to do any further work on the file”. He added: “If it became apparent that there was to be a further appeal based upon [the forensic scientist’s] additional work, then the position would change and the question of additional work in relation to bolstering the case as it stands could be undertaken.”

2011

October: CCRC case log summarises a meeting with a forensic scientist and says they said: “We are not going to get a profile from the material available which is capable of being searched and as a result someone identified. On the face of things this tends to support the position that the commission has done everything reasonable and there is no convincing reason to take forensic investigation any further.” However, searchable DNA had already been found – and searched in 2007.

November: Case log shows the significance of the location of saliva on the vest top appears to have been missed by the CCRC, despite the CPS acknowledging its significance as “crime specific” two years earlier. The note says: “The location of the DNA on the vest top does not make it any more likely to have been left by the attacker as opposed to a different individual.”

2012

The CCRC refuses Malkinson’s 2009 application without looking at the full police file or commissioning further DNA testing.

2016

The late journalist Bob Woffinden publishes The Nicholas Cases: Casualties of Justice, a book with a chapter on Malkinson.

2017

Malkinson’s case is picked up by the charity Appeal.

2018

A fresh application is made to the CCRC detailing flaws in the witness evidence. The CCRC does not commission further forensic testing or a fresh search of the police database.

2020

CCRC refuses Malkinson’s latest application. Malkinson’s lawyers at Appeal receive initial results of their own DNA testing, which links the crime to another unknown man. Previous criminal convictions of key witnesses are discovered by Appeal after a legal battle for the police file. Malkinson is released from prison on good behaviour.

2021

Malkinson’s lawyers make a fresh application to the CCRC on the basis of DNA and disclosure failures.

2022

A man is arrested in connection with the rape and released under investigation.

2023

January: CCRC refers Malkinson’s case to the appeal court.

July: Malkinson’s conviction is overturned.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/aug/15/dna-and-injustice-a-timeline-of-the-andrew-malkinson-case

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Directors Fran Robertson and Jemma Gander says: “We first met Andy on the day he was released from prison in 2020, when he was still considered a guilty man. We knew that he had already spent 17 and a half years behind bars, fighting for the truth to come out and hoping that one day he would be able to tell the full story of his wrongful conviction and of the failures of the criminal justice system. We’re grateful that he allowed us to follow his journey to the Court of Appeal and that he has trusted us to help tell his story.”

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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE: 'The Wrong Man: 17 Years Behind Bars,'   published  by The BBC on May 22, 2024..

GIST: "BBC Factual has announced The Wrong Man: 17 Years Behind Bars, the deeply personal story of an innocent man failed at every turn by the criminal justice system. This one hour documentary for BBC Two and iPlayer tells the story of Andrew Malkinson and the devastating effect of the years he spent in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

On the morning of 2 August 2003 there’s a knock on Andrew Malkinson’s door.

It’s the police, there to arrest him for the violent attack and rape of a young woman. Andrew is adamant he hasn’t done it but the police are certain he matches the victim’s description of the attacker. Convinced that everything will be cleared up once he gets to the police station, Andrew takes part in a video lineup.

But the victim identifies him in the lineup as the man who attacked her and Andrew is charged with attempted murder and rape. Just over six months later a jury finds him guilty of rape and sentences him to life in prison. He begins his life sentence on the sex offenders wing in HMP Frankland on 30 March 2004.

Emma Loach, Lead Commissioning Editor, Documentaries, says: “This film describes one of the most terrible miscarriages of justice of our time. This was not only a devastating failure of the judicial system for Andrew, it has also neglected to bring justice for the victim of what was an appalling crime. The film goes behind the headlines and shows Andrew’s bravery and tenacity as he fights for his freedom and the terrible repercussions he is still facing today.”

Directors Fran Robertson and Jemma Gander says: “We first met Andy on the day he was released from prison in 2020, when he was still considered a guilty man. We knew that he had already spent 17 and a half years behind bars, fighting for the truth to come out and hoping that one day he would be able to tell the full story of his wrongful conviction and of the failures of the criminal justice system. We’re grateful that he allowed us to follow his journey to the Court of Appeal and that he has trusted us to help tell his story.”

With exclusive access to Andrew, his family and his legal team, this powerful film tells the extraordinary story of his fight to prove his innocence, from the moment of his arrest to his exoneration at the Court of Appeal twenty years later. Filmed over three years, from the day he walks out of prison, Directors Jemma Gander and Fran Robertson follow Andrew and his legal team as they take on the criminal justice system to overturn his conviction.

Andrew takes centre stage to tell his story and describes the devastating effect of those years in prison. His mother, Trish and his sister Sarah reveal the impact on them: what it was like to read the front page newspaper headlines describing him as a ‘monster’ and how it affected their relationship with him.

After serving seven years of his sentence, Andrew was eligible for parole, an early release under supervision. For the Parole Board to assess his risk to the public, he’s asked to attend offender behaviour programmes which he refuses to do as it means talking about the rape he didn't commit. His mum reveals, “he said ‘I’m never ever going to admit to something that I haven’t done. I don’t care if I stay in prison for the rest of my days.’”

As APPEAL lawyer Emily Bolton and investigator James Burley investigate Andrew’s case, they uncover revelations about the witnesses that start to show a picture of failings by Greater Manchester Police in its original investigation of the case.

After more than seventeen years, the Parole Board finally decide Andrew can be released. His mum and legal team are there to meet him and it’s an extraordinary moment for Andrew to “go to the beach and feel the waves, the wind and the cold air”. It's bittersweet – he’s free from prison but he’s still convicted of being a sex offender, under tight supervision by the probation service and the police.

As Andrew walks into the Court of Appeal, almost twenty years since he was arrested, his family and supporters can only hope that this time he will clear his name. The judge delivers his decision: “Mr. Malkinson, having waited so many years, you leave the court a free man, no longer subject to the conditions of your life licence.

The Wrong Man: 17 Years Behind Bars, a 1x60’ is made by Two Step Films for BBC Two and iPlayer. It was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. The Executive Producers are Shona Thompson and Kevin Macdonald and the Producer/Directors are Jemma Gander and Fran Robertson. The Commissioning Editor is Emma Loach."

The entire release can be read at:

https://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/BBC2/view/397952/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

---------------------------------------------------------------

FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

—————————————————————————————————

FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

————————————————————————————

YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:

David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801

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