Vikram singh
SPNer
- Feb 24, 2005
- 454
- 412
NRI hotelier Vikram Chatwal recently completed a rehab stint to quit drugs at a quiet Byculla hospital
NRI business tycoon Vikram Chatwal, once named as one of the richest Indians and whose wedding guests included steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and former US president Bill Clinton, spent a hush-hush month getting over his narco fix in a nondescript Byculla rehab home.
While the treating doctors were tight-lipped about Chatwal visit, Sunday MiD DAY found that the hotelier was indeed treated at the hospital. He spent his rehabilitation days in the deluxe room no 1131 on the third floor of the hospital's nursing home (Bai Serenebai M Banajee Memorial Wing). Chatwal currently owns and runs five luxury boutique hotels in New York and Bangkok, and has acted in the Bollywood movies Ek Ajnabee and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. Deluxe room
The hospital record shows that Chatwal was admitted on November 8, 2009 as an indoor patient (vide number 1903179) and was discharged on December 18, 2009 at 6.30 pm. Internal sources revealed that the deluxe room where Chatwal was admitted was a luxury room measuring nearly 200 sq feet with an attached toilet and bathroom. The air-conditioned room also had a television and refrigerator. Chatwal paid an approximate Rs 3,000 per day for the room. Chatwal, who was married to Delhi model Priya Sachdev in a highly-publicised extravagant wedding in 2005, was not accompanied by his wife.
The Masina hospital at Byculla. Chatwal stayed at the nursing home Bai Serenebai M Banajee memorial wing
A hospital source said, "It is unknown which drug he wanted to be rid of, but it is confirmed that he was on a drug rehabilitation program over here under the supervision of Dr Yusuf Matcheswala."
Interestingly, the hospital also has a general ward adjacent to the nursing home where counselling sessions take place. Chatwal, according to the sources, used to attend these sessions often, where he candidly shared his experiences with his rehab fellows. 'He was polite'
Surprisingly, most staffers, including nurses and ward boys, were unaware of his high stature. A ward boy said, "He was polite and never asked for any favour (like cigarettes) and before he left the ward, I got a tip of Rs 50 from him."
A nurse, on the condition of anonymity, revealed, "Chatwal used to attend the sessions regularly, and we fail to understand why suddenly after he left the hospital, people have started enquiring about his visit. He was like any other patient for us."
However, the hospital is in a denial mode about Chatwal's stay at rehab. Dr Matcheswala flatly denied that he had ever treated any person named Vikram Chatwal.
According to film industry sources, this is not the first time that Chatwal has attended any rehabilitation programme.
"Chatwal was earlier admitted to fancy rehabilitation centers in US many times. However, in this case, his parents wanted him to go into hard-core rehab and a lot of people think that they had put him in a good hospital (Masina). Few of his Page 3 friends had even visited him during his stay. He preferred Mumbai because he is not a known face here compared to the US, where he would have been recognised immediately and come under media glare," the source said.
Numerous attempts to contact Chatwal on his mobile did not yield any result.
NRI business tycoon Vikram Chatwal, once named as one of the richest Indians and whose wedding guests included steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and former US president Bill Clinton, spent a hush-hush month getting over his narco fix in a nondescript Byculla rehab home.
While the treating doctors were tight-lipped about Chatwal visit, Sunday MiD DAY found that the hotelier was indeed treated at the hospital. He spent his rehabilitation days in the deluxe room no 1131 on the third floor of the hospital's nursing home (Bai Serenebai M Banajee Memorial Wing). Chatwal currently owns and runs five luxury boutique hotels in New York and Bangkok, and has acted in the Bollywood movies Ek Ajnabee and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. Deluxe room
The hospital record shows that Chatwal was admitted on November 8, 2009 as an indoor patient (vide number 1903179) and was discharged on December 18, 2009 at 6.30 pm. Internal sources revealed that the deluxe room where Chatwal was admitted was a luxury room measuring nearly 200 sq feet with an attached toilet and bathroom. The air-conditioned room also had a television and refrigerator. Chatwal paid an approximate Rs 3,000 per day for the room. Chatwal, who was married to Delhi model Priya Sachdev in a highly-publicised extravagant wedding in 2005, was not accompanied by his wife.
The Masina hospital at Byculla. Chatwal stayed at the nursing home Bai Serenebai M Banajee memorial wing
A hospital source said, "It is unknown which drug he wanted to be rid of, but it is confirmed that he was on a drug rehabilitation program over here under the supervision of Dr Yusuf Matcheswala."
Interestingly, the hospital also has a general ward adjacent to the nursing home where counselling sessions take place. Chatwal, according to the sources, used to attend these sessions often, where he candidly shared his experiences with his rehab fellows. 'He was polite'
Surprisingly, most staffers, including nurses and ward boys, were unaware of his high stature. A ward boy said, "He was polite and never asked for any favour (like cigarettes) and before he left the ward, I got a tip of Rs 50 from him."
A nurse, on the condition of anonymity, revealed, "Chatwal used to attend the sessions regularly, and we fail to understand why suddenly after he left the hospital, people have started enquiring about his visit. He was like any other patient for us."
However, the hospital is in a denial mode about Chatwal's stay at rehab. Dr Matcheswala flatly denied that he had ever treated any person named Vikram Chatwal.
According to film industry sources, this is not the first time that Chatwal has attended any rehabilitation programme.
"Chatwal was earlier admitted to fancy rehabilitation centers in US many times. However, in this case, his parents wanted him to go into hard-core rehab and a lot of people think that they had put him in a good hospital (Masina). Few of his Page 3 friends had even visited him during his stay. He preferred Mumbai because he is not a known face here compared to the US, where he would have been recognised immediately and come under media glare," the source said.
Numerous attempts to contact Chatwal on his mobile did not yield any result.
