Mental hosp system hacked, nine staffers ‘terminated’, lose salaries

Pune: The Vishrantwadi police are investigating a case wherein allegedly a disgruntled employee made changes in the Yerawada Regional Mental Hospital (RMH)’s internal online system using his cellphone and official WiFi and showed nine staffers as terminated, depriving them of salaries for three months.

“Some resentful employee was responsible for the crime,” said senior inspector Yuvraj Hande of the Vishrantwadi police station.

The changes in the online system were made in Feb 2024 and came to light three months later. However, through impediments, it took two years to verify the person involved in the crime.

An office superintendent of the RMH has lodged a complaint with the Vishrantwadi police in this regard. The complainant said someone hacked and made changes in the internal online system of the hospital, an entity of the state health department. Nine employees — clerks and nurses — were shown as terminated and their salaries not credited for three months.

Meanwhile, Hande told TOI: “The case was transferred to our police station and we have initiated further legal action.”

An officer with the Yerawada RMH told TOI: “We cannot comment as the police are probing the case.”

The FIR said the hospital authorities informed the state govt treasury officials in Mumbai that nine employees had not received their salaries. The matter was investigated. The officials told RMH authorities that the online system showed the services of the aggrieved employees as terminated and their salaries were thus not credited.

“We received a complaint application and investigated. We found out that an unhappy employee of the hospital was behind the changes. The suspect used his cellphone and the hospital internet connection to alter the data of the employees,” said senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the Pune cyber police.