Three senior docs arrested in Rs. 1 cr scam

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has arrested three top doctors and a pharmacist from Lok Nayak Hospital and Sanjay Gandhi Hospital for a purchase scam that has caused a loss of over R1 crore to the exchequer.

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has arrested three top doctors and a pharmacist from Lok Nayak Hospital and Sanjay Gandhi Hospital for a purchase scam that has caused a loss of over Rs. 1 crore to the exchequer.

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The arrests were made in connection with the cases registered in 2009 and 2012 against Central Procurement Agency officials under Delhi government’s department of health and family welfare and various hospitals.

“All the four arrested have been remanded to 14 day judicial custody by a city court,” ACB officials said.

Those arrested on Wednesday are Sanjay Gandhi Hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Ram Avatar Gautam and Ashok Kumar Wadhwa, a pharmacist. Dr VK Ramteke, professor and HoD of Surgery, and Dr Manmohan Singh Chopra, additional medical superintendent, both from Lok Nayak Hospital, were arrested on Tuesday.

The ACB had already arrested Dr DS Rao, CMO, in-charge of Central Procurement Agency and Dr Sarvesh Bhattacharjee, retired director (health) on May 7, officials said.

An FIR against the doctors, staff and suppliers of equipment said the ACB received information that they, in connivance with some supplier, were allegedly purchasing their products at a higher rate than the market price.

Some of the items, priced at a huge margin, were ordered for supply to the hospital but were never delivered due to dispute between the officials of the hospital and the suppliers on the sharing of a huge illegal margin, the police alleged.

The police filed the FIR under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged criminal misconduct by a public servant and also cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code.