Under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, there is a provision of free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. PGI has given the contract of giving medicines to the patients to Amrit Pharmacy. PGI doctors treat the patient and prescribe medicines and send them.
A scam of crores in the name of treatment of patients under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana has been exposed in PGI Chandigarh. The government was duped of crores by writing the name of the medicine on the Ayushman Bharat bill and putting a fake seal on it and selling medicines worth crores at cheap rates.
Under the leadership of SP Jasbir Singh of Crime Branch, Inspector Satwinder Singh arrested accused Balram from Saharanpur and recovered medicines worth lakhs. Sources said that senior officials of PGI can also be caught in this case. Police is interrogating the accused about who else was involved in the scam. Sources said that more arrests can be made in this case soon.
There is a contract of medicines with Amrit Pharmacy
Under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, there is a provision of free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. PGI has given the contract of giving medicines to patients to Amrit Pharmacy. PGI doctors treat the patient and prescribe medicines and send them. Amrit Pharmacy gets the bills of medicines passed and takes money from the Ayushman department. Sources said that the role of the operator of Amrit Pharmacy can also come under suspicion in the scam. Let us tell you that the investigation of this case was transferred to the Crime Branch.
This is how the case was revealed
In February, a young man went to Amrit Pharmacy to get medicines worth Rs 60,000 by writing the name of the medicine on the Ayushman Bharat bill in the name of PGI and putting a fake nursing seal. He got the medicine, the bill was also passed. But the bill had the seal of a doctor from another department. PGI security personnel caught the young man and handed him over to the PGI post. Eight seals, fake bills of Ayushman Bharat and an indent book were recovered from his possession. Accused Raman, a resident of Kangra, told during interrogation that he used to do this work on the instructions of someone else.
Used to steal patients’ data
Sources said that accused Balram used to steal the data of patients coming to PGI for treatment under Ayushman. The accused used to write the name of the patient as per the data and put the seal of Ayushman department on it and prepare a fake copy of the same. The accused used to take the amount of the medicine bill from Amrit Pharmacy from Ayushman department.
Who gave samples for fake seals?
Police is investigating how the data of patients used to reach Balram without the connivance of PGI staff. Police is interrogating the accused as to how he got 8 seals of different departments of PGI made and from where.
Doctors are also unaware of fake seals
PGI doctors also do not know that their fake seals have been made. Seals were put on fake bills and expensive medicines were written and sold outside. Sources said that a complete file of the card, CR number along with the name of the patient is made. The doctor also has the record of the patient’s treatment. But this record will not be in the file recorded on the computer. This record will not be found in the fake file.
Indent book was missing, complaint not lodged
Sources said that the indent book was missing from PGI. This intent book is issued from the store department. But when the intent book was missing, its complaint was not lodged with the concerned HOD and store in-charge. It is not yet known since when the indent book was missing. Actually, medicines were taken from Amrit Store and sold in the market by writing the medicines on the indent book and putting a fake seal.
Burning questions
-If the intent book was missing from PGI, why was it not reported to the police
-How did the accused get the sample of the original stamp to make the fake stamp
-Who provided the patients’ data
-Why did the accused’s PGI outpost police not get a clue about it
-How can such a big scam happen without the PGI staff
The accused who used a fake stamp at PGI to commit fraud in the name of medicines under the Ayushman scheme has been arrested. The accused is being questioned. -Jasbir Singh, SP Crime
