‘Kill the Patient’: Maharashtra Doctor Faces Heat Over Viral Audio Clip Scandal

An explosive audio recording in 2021 sparked an angry controversy about medical ethics and patient treatment during the COVID-19 crisis. Maharashtra Police lodged a First Information Report against a senior government physician after a viral audio recording was said to have been recorded asking a fellow doctor to cause harm to a COVID-19 patient.

The controversial audio recording

The audio clip surfaced on social media recently, featuring an argument between Dr. Shashikant Deshpande, who was then Additional District Surgeon in the Government Hospital in Udgir in Latur, and Dr. Shashikant Dange, who was posted in a COVID-19 care center. The audio clip was recorded in 2021, when India was worst hit by the second wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

The video emerged at a moment when hospitals were flooded with patients and there was a critical lack of medical resources. Healthcare systems were straining under record levels of pressure, with medical staff working day and night to rescue lives.
When Dr. Dange informed him that there were no vacant beds, the man claimed that he distinctly heard Dr. Deshpande saying,

Patient recovers despite controversy

The patient at the center of this controversy, Kausar Fatima, the wife of Dayami Ajimoddin Gaussoddin  (53), had actually recovered from COVID-19 and was released from the hospital. This introduces an additional layer of complexity into the case since the recovery of the patient contravenes the famed instructions in the audio.

Legal action and investigation

The police have registered an FIR against the senior physician after the audio clip went viral on social media. The case has gained much momentum from doctors and the public, raising serious questions over ethical standards in healthcare in a crisis. The police have also issued a notice to Dr. Dange.

The complaint was issued in May 2025 when the audio recording surfaced again on social media, sparking off the complainant, who asserted that religious sentiments were offended by the comment. The delay in responding shows how proof on the web will pop up years after the event, potentially reopening the sores again.

Healthcare ethics in question

The incident has sparked renewed debate on the high level of stress healthcare professionals endured at the peak of the pandemic. The case has led to inquiries into police conduct and medical ethics amid crisis situations. Doctors all over India have worked under trying conditions, taking calls on life and death with minimal resources.

The audio recording controversy serves as a reminder that professional conduct and ethical practices, even in the most adverse of situations, have to be preserve. It also reinforces the long-term impact of the pandemic on patients and healthcare workers alike, whose impacts are still being witnessed years later.

Looking ahead

As the investigation goes on, this case will also influence the way medical ethics, emergency management practices, and backup strategies for healthcare workers in the course of emergencies are addressed in the future.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Muhammad Faisal Arshad/MSM)