India, June 30 -- The Maharashtra government on Monday announced the termination of services of Dr Hitesh Pagare, the head of the Mahanagar blood bank, which operates from the JJ Hospital premises, for the alleged illegal diversion of 50 blood bags to his own private blood bank in Badlapur. The government is to register a criminal case against him and also bring in a standard operating procedure (SOP) for blood banks across Maharashtra to curb malpractices.

Minister of state for public health Meghana Bordikar made the announcement while responding to a calling attention motion raised by BJP member Chitra Wagh in the legislative council. Wagh said that Dr Pagare, who is working on a contract basis, illegally diverted 50 blood bags of the ...