₹550 crore medical purchase scam: Chhattisgarh ACB/EOW files chargesheet against six
ACB/EOW
) on Saturday filed a chargesheet against six persons for alleged irregularities in purchase of medical equipment and reagent chemicals in 2023 that caused a loss of ₹550 crore to the state exchequer, an official said.
The 18000-page chargesheet names Shashank Chopda, director of Mokshit Corporation, and
Basant Kumar Kaushik
, Chhirod Rautia, Kamalkant Patanwar, Dr Anil Parsai and Deepak Kumar Bandhe, who were posted with the state-run
Chhattisgarh Medical Services Corporation
Ltd (CGMSCL) at the time, he added.
"Kaushik was in charge general manager (equipment) and deputy manager (purchase and operations) of CGMSCL. Rautia and Bandhe were biomedical engineers. Patanwar was then deputy manager (equipment) and Parsai was then deputy director (stores). Chopda was nabbed on January 29, while the five were held in March," he said.
On January 22 this year the ACB/EOW lodged a case against officials of the CGMSCL (Raipur) and Directorate of Health Services department as well as four firms, namely Mokshit Corporation (Durg), CB Corporation (Durg), Records and Medicare System HSIIDC (Panchkula, Haryana) and Shri Sharda Industries (Raipur), as well as others.
The case was lodged under Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act, the official added. As per the ACB/EOW, the alleged scam involves purchase of reagents and equipment without checking requirement/availability of these items in health centres.
The CGMSCL has made purchases worth billions of rupees between January 2022 to October 31, 2023 in collusion with Mokshit Corporation and its shell company, its said.
"For instance, the EDTA tube used for collecting blood samples was purchased from Mokshit Corporation at the rate of Rs 2,352 per piece, while the same material was purchased by other institutions at a maximum rate of Rs 8.50," it said.
The CBC machine, which is sold by the manufacturing companies in the open market for Rs 5,00,000, was provided to CGMSC for Rs 17 lakh by Mokshit Corporation, the ACB/EOW as claimed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
United News of India
26 minutes ago
- United News of India
ED raids Baghel's residence in Chhattisgarh
Durg (Chhattisgarh), July 18 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate today conducted searches at the residence of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in an alleged liquor scam involving his son Chaitanya. Baghel's office confirmed the development through a post on social media, stating, 'The ED came. Today is the final day of the Assembly session. The issue of logging in Tamnar for Adani was to be taken up. 'Saheb' has sent the ED to the Bhilai residence.' ED officials said that after obtaining fresh evidence in the case, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was invoked against Chaitanya who resides with his father. Similar raids were conducted in March. The ED suspects Chaitanya received criminal proceeds from the scam. The Chhattisgarh treasury suffered significant losses with Rs 2,100 crore which was diverted into the hands of the liquor syndicate. UNI XC-AC AAB PRS
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Hounded' by govt for last 10 years: Rahul Gandhi slams ED chargesheet against Robert Vadra
Rahul Gandhi has defended Robert Vadra, his brother-in-law, asserting that Vadra has been unfairly targeted by the government for a decade. This statement follows the Enforcement Directorate's attachment of Vadra's properties worth Rs 37.64 crore. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the government of launching a witch-hunt against his brother-in-law Robert Vadra after the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against the businessman in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a land deal in Haryana's also asserted that the truth shall eventually prevail and that his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her family will withstand any kind of persecution."My brother-in-law has been hounded by this government for the last ten years. This latest chargesheet is a continuation of that witch hunt," he said in a post on X."I stand with Robert, Priyanka and their children as they face yet another onslaught of malicious, politically motivated slander and harassment," he said, "I know that they are all brave enough to withstand any kind of persecution and they will continue to do so with dignity"."The truth will eventually prevail," the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a prosecution complaint naming the 56-year-old Vadra in a criminal federal investigative agency also attached 43 immovable properties located in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat worth Rs. 37.64 crore pertaining to Vadra and his linked entities like Sky Light Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and office issued a statement on Thursday, saying the present proceedings are nothing more than an extension of the political witch-hunt by the present government against him.
Scroll.in
an hour ago
- Scroll.in
Chhattisgarh: ED searches home of Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel's son in liquor scam case
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted searches at the home of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and his son Chaitanya Baghel in connection with an alleged Rs 2,000-crore liquor scam, PTI reported. The home in Durg district's Bhilai was being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on the receipt of fresh evidence in the case, an unidentified official told the news agency. The central agency has alleged that a syndicate of state government officials, politicians and others conspired to ensure that a state-run company procured country liquor only from distributors who would pay a commission of Rs 75 per case. It alleged that the syndicate pocketed more than Rs 2,000 crore that would have otherwise gone to the state exchequer between 2019 and 2022. Chhattisgarh was ruled by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government between 2018 and 2023, when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the state. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Chaitanya Baghel received proceeds of crime generated from the bootlegging of alcohol. In a social media post on Friday, Bhupesh Baghel confirmed that the central agency was conducting searches. The Congress leader claimed that the action was being taken in an attempt to stop him from raising questions in the Assembly about the trees being allegedly felled by the Adani Group. 'Today is the last day of the state legislative [monsoon] session,' the Patan MLA said on X. 'The issue of trees being felled for Adani in Tamnar was scheduled to be raised [in the House]. 'Saheb' has sent ED to Bhilai residence.' The chief minister was referring to the protests by the residents of Tamnar tehsil in Raigarh district against the felling of trees for a coal mine project in the area, The Hindu reported. The mine was allotted to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited, which contracted the Adani Group to develop and operate it. Earlier in July, Bhupesh Baghel had visited Tamnar to support the protesters, the newspaper reported. The liquor scam The Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau registered a first information report in the alleged liquor scam in January 2024 based on the Enforcement Directorate's complaints. The FIR accused 70 persons of involvement in the alleged scam, including former state excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, Indian Administrative Service officer Anil Tuteja and Special Secretary Arun Pati Tripathi. They have been charged with corruption, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Lakhma, a six-time MLA from Konta in Sukma district, was arrested in the case by the central agency in January. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Anwar Dhebar, brother of Raipur mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, orchestrated the scam. Although the Enforcement Directorate had filed a prosecution complaint last year, Lakhma and others were linked to the case in the latest FIR.
