Sole chemist shop at GMSH-16: Chandigarh vigilance dept files FIR

After approval from Chandigarh adviser-cum-chief vigilance officer Dharam Pal, a case has been registered for breach of trust, cheating by personation, cheating and criminal conspiracy, and under the Prevention of Corruption Act

Nearly eight months after an inspection had revealed that the then sole chemist shop at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, was being operated by the same firm for 29 years through multiple extensions and renewals, and at a rent lower than the market price, the UT vigilance department has registered an FIR into the matter.

The chemist shop had been allotted to Sunil Kumar Jain on lease for only two years through an auction in 1993. (HT FIle Photo)

After approval from UT adviser-cum-chief vigilance officer Dharam Pal, a case has been registered under Section 406 (breach of trust), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13 (1) b and (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

An investigation will now be launched to examine the involvement of private individuals, and officers of the UT administration and GMSH-16.

As per a statement issued by the vigilance department on Friday, strict legal action will be taken against all individuals involved in the case, irrespective of their positions.

The shop had been allotted to Sunil Kumar Jain on lease for only two years through an auction in 1993. Though the first lease ended in 1995, the hospital authorities never floated a fresh tender and had been extending the lease every five years, with the latest extension occurring in 2019 – for up to 2024, an inspection by the health department had found.

Also, while the private firms at GMCH, Sector 32, and PGIMER were paying monthly rents ranging from ₹8 lakh ₹1.5 crore, the rent for the shop at GMSH-16 had not crossed ₹3 lakh per month. A recently allotted chemist shop at GMSH also pays ₹17.01 lakh, despite having a smaller area.

According to a report by a four-member fact-finding committee established by the UT administration in September 2022, Dr Manjit Singh Bains, former director of UT health services, and the chemist shop owner colluded to illegally expand the shop’s size by demolishing the partition wall and encroaching on the adjacent passage. The committee also discovered that records related to the chemist shop were missing after 2014 and recommended that an FIR be filed in connection with the matter.

Despite illegally encroaching upon the public passage for over 12 years, no action was taken against the chemist shop by the officials concerned. However, in 2023, the public passage was finally cleared.

Vigilance department stated that most of the shops and canteens located on GMSH premises had been allotted to a particular group of people, who maintained hold over them for considerably longer periods without a fair and transparent bidding process.