The elaborate deception, according to police complaints filed in August 2025, involved falsified medical records, manipulated biopsy slides, and a calculated campaign of misinformation.
Published Sep 19, 2025 | 11:47 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 19, 2025 | 11:47 AM
Hospital beds. (iStock)
Synopsis: A Hyderabad hospital has allegedly fabricated test results and diagnoses to defraud a woman into performing an unwanted surgery. According to the police complaint, the evidence points to a calculated scheme by doctors to defraud the woman.
For two years, Telangana woman Basireddy Sunitha carried the weight of uncertainty that haunts every cancer survivor — the lingering fear that the disease might return. The 55-year-old resident of Vengal Rao Nagar in Hyderabad diligently attended her follow-up appointments at Soumya Multi Speciality Hospital in Karkhana, trusting the doctors who had treated her benign breast lump in 2022.
What she didn’t know was that her worst nightmare was about to unfold — not because cancer had returned, but because the very medical professionals she trusted allegedly conspired to make her believe it had.
The elaborate deception, according to police complaints filed in August 2025, involved falsified medical records, manipulated biopsy slides, and a calculated campaign of misinformation that ultimately led Sunitha to undergo unnecessary surgery, paying ₹1 lakh for treatment she never needed.
Sunitha’s medical journey began innocuously in 2022 when she noticed a lump in her left breast. Concerned, she visited Soumya Multi Speciality Hospital, where Dr S Chandrasekhar Rao examined her and recommended a biopsy to rule out cancer.
Following his advice, she underwent surgery and was discharged on 17 August 2022, after a Wide Local Excision (WLE) procedure.
The initial results were reassuring. The histopathology confirmed a benign lesion, not carcinoma. Even the discharge summary dated 17 August 2022, clearly stated “Benign Epithelial Lesion” with no mention of malignancy.
Her medical examination at Life Oncopath Diagnostic Centre, where she was referred by Soumya Hospital doctors, further confirmed this diagnosis. The histopathology report dated 10 September 2022, made no mention of carcinoma, instead identifying “Benign Breast Disease.”
For two years, Sunitha followed the prescribed routine follow-ups, living with the typical anxiety that accompanies any cancer scare, but reassured by the consistent non-cancerous findings.
In September 2024, what should have been a routine follow-up visit for her previous left breast surgery took a sinister turn. Dr Chandrasekhar Rao, Dr S Soumya and Dr D. Soumya referred her to Dr Pooja Boggaram, a consultant radiologist, for a USG-guided biopsy of her left breast.
However, Dr Pooja Boggaram allegedly performed the biopsy on her right breast instead, claiming she had “incidentally found a lump” during examination. Crucially, no preliminary report or imaging was provided to substantiate the existence of any lump in the right breast.
Based solely on internal discussions between Dr Chandrasekhar Rao and Dr Pooja Boggaram, Sunitha was told there was a “serious medical emergency” requiring immediate biopsy.
The first alleged red flag appeared on 3 October 2024, when Sunitha received her biopsy report. Her age was listed as 74 instead of 55 years.
When she questioned this obvious error, hospital staff member Malikarjun took the report, claiming it was a clerical mistake, but never returned a corrected version.
A second report, dated 10 October 2024, contained an even more alarming fabrication. Under “Clinical Findings,” it falsely stated that Sunitha had a history of DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ) in her left breast – a complete fabrication of her medical history.
Only after she raised objections did hospital staff manually correct the report with a pen, changing it to “benign disease.”
“This shows that false medical history was consciously put down and subsequently altered, which amounts to forgery and fabrication of medical reports,” Sunitha stated in her complaint.
Despite these glaring inconsistencies, Dr Chandrasekhar advised immediate surgery. Trusting her doctors and believing she was facing a cancer diagnosis, Sunitha consented to the procedure.
The psychological impact was devastating – the woman who had lived cancer-free for two years was suddenly thrust back into the terrifying world of malignancy, or so she believed.
Post-surgery, doubt began to creep in. The circumstances surrounding her reports seemed increasingly suspicious. Sunitha requested that the hospital provide the slides used for her biopsy analysis. On 25 October 2024, after paying ₹1,000, she received the tissue block specimen from Soumya Multi Speciality Hospital.
What happened next would expose the full extent of the alleged fraud. Sunitha took the sample slide and specimen to Dr Mahendra J Parage at Life Oncopath Diagnostic Centre for independent examination.
His report, dated 5 November 2024, delivered a shocking revelation: The slide labelled 990/2024 did not match the tissue block from which it was supposed to have originated.
Seeking further confirmation, Sunitha approached the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar. Their report, dated 25 November 2024, definitively confirmed the mismatch between the slide and tissue block bearing number 990/2024, providing concrete evidence of manipulation of diagnostic material.
According to the police complaint, the evidence points to a calculated scheme by Dr Chandrasekhar Rao, Dr S Soumya, Dr D Soumya, and Dr Pooja Boggaram to defraud Sunitha. The allegations suggest they used slides belonging to someone else — possibly from an actual cancer patient — to create false evidence of malignancy in Sunitha’s case.
“The hospital authorities, despite having no conclusive or matching pathological evidence, falsely represented that urgent surgical intervention was necessary to enrich themselves,” Sunitha stated in her complaint.
“They used their position of trust to mislead me into believing that a life-threatening condition existed, and thereby extracted my consent and money under false pretences,” she added.
The financial impact was substantial – ₹1 lakh for unnecessary surgery and related medical expenses. But the emotional and psychological toll was perhaps even greater. Sunitha experienced “grievous bodily harm, financial loss, emotional trauma,” and now faces potential issues with future insurance claims.
The Karkhana Police Station registered a case under sections 318(4), 316(2), 125, and 49 r/w 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on 16 September, covering charges of cheating and negligence endangering life.
Police confirmed that independent investigations revealed discrepancies between the hospital’s reports and private agency findings.
“She was misled into undergoing surgery for ‘suspected cancer,’ despite it not being medically necessary. This resulted in emotional distress, physical harm, and financial loss,” police stated, adding that Sunitha is currently in stable condition.
South First has written to Soumya Multi Speciality Hospital in Karkhana. This report will be updated if we receive a response.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
