MUMBAI, Nov. 6 -- The Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) has cancelled the registration of Breath Care Hospital in Vasai West based on an inquiry by its health department and the Palghar district health officer, which found that negligence of doctors had led to the death of a 27-year-old patient in March 2024. The owner of the hospital, Dr Dharmendra Dubey, has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder based on the inquiry report. Lalman Gupta, father of the deceased patient Rupesh Gupta, who had complained to the police about medical negligence back in March 2024 and pursued the matter for the past year and half welcomed the developments. "I am glad that my struggle has paid off and no other person will have to lose a son at this hospital which was supposed to be a specialty hospital for respiratory problems," Gupta, a resident of Madhuvan Colony in Vasai East, told Hindustan Times. Gupta said his son Rupesh was admitted to Breath Care Hospital on March 18, 2024 with complaints of cold, cough and fever. Though Rupesh was treated by Dr Dubey, who was supposed to be a specialist, he was not given oxygen support despite facing difficulties in breathing, his father alleged. Neither did the hospital arrange for a cardiac ambulance and allow him to be shifted to another hospital, he said. "It was pure negligence on the part of the doctor that led to my son's death," Gupta said. "The doctor knew that my son could die if he was not given oxygen support, but still did nothing." After Rupesh passed away, Gupta approached the Manikpur police with a complaint about medical negligence leading to his son's death, based on which a first information report (FIR) was registered against the hospital and its owner. The case was then sent to VVCMC's health department for verification. The health department, along with the Palghar district health officer, inquired into the matter by examining relevant medical documents, seeking the advice of an expert doctor, and recording statements of the deceased's relatives. On March 21, 2025, a team of doctors from VVCMC's Achole Primary Healthcare Centre conducted an inspection at the hospital. The report, containing findings of the inquiry, was submitted to the police last week. It revealed several lapses. Dr Dubey had not examined the patient at all and there was no trained nursing staff at the hospital, it said. While it was mandatory for the doctor in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to have a degree in allopathic medicine (MMBS), Dr Awadhesh Yadav - the doctor present there when Rupesh was under treatment - had a degree in ayurvedic medicine, and was not registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC). Ritesh Vishwakarma, another doctor who treated Rupesh, was just an intern. When Rupesh's condition deteriorated, he was not provided with a cardiac ambulance to shift him to another hospital, the report said. Based on the report submitted by the health department, the Manikpur police concluded that the hospital's negligence led to the death of the young man and booked Dr Dubey, the hospital's owner, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Alongside, the VVMC cancelled the registration of Breath Care Hospital under section 7 of the Maharashtra Nursing Home Registration Act, 1949, said Dr Bhakti Chaudhary, chief medical officer, VVCMC....