LNJP in trouble over purchase irregularities

Almost two years after the Directorate of Vigilance, Delhi government commissioned a report about irregularities in purchases at Lok Nayak Hospital, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has finally filed a First Information Report (FIR) in this connection, reports Jaya Shroff and Nivedita Khandekar.

Almost two years after the Directorate of Vigilance, Delhi government commissioned a report about irregularities in purchases at Lok Nayak Hospital, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has finally filed a First Information Report (FIR) in this connection.

HT Image

The FIR, registered on January 20, comes eight months after HT published (in May 2008) a series about the irregularities in purchases and how the Vigilance Department had been sitting on the vigilance report.

“The FIR is registered against authorities of LNJP Hospital and private supplier firms,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (ACB) I D Shukla confirmed.

However, stating that investigations are still underway, Shukla refused to divulge more details.

Based on a copy of a 103-page report commissioned by the Directorate of Vigilance,

HT had highlighted last year how 19 senior doctors, officials and suppliers of the hospital were charged with “causing unjustified expenditure causing loss to the government exchequer.”

The main irregularities mentioned in the FIR are in connection with purchase

of ICU beds, purchase of disinfectants and tender for security services.

The FIR has been registered under section 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act and several sections of IPC, including cheating and dishonesty.

However, even though the Vigilance report clearly mentioned names of the hospital officials and supplier firms, these do not figure in the FIR.

Sources in the government, who refused to be identified, said bureaucrats in the DoV had tried to subvert the law by not permitting the ACB to register FIRs in this connection.