Indian Express News paper : 1/9/2009
According to the CBI, purchases of over Rs 130 crore were made from the funds allotted under the National Rural Health Mission without assessing requirement and violating rulesINVESTIGATING a major irregularity in a flagship programme of the UPA government for providing free healthcare services, the CBI on Monday searched 14 premises of a former health secretary and a senior health officer of Jharkhand and three others, who are being probed for allegedly siphoning off more than Rs 130croreunderthehealthschemes.
CBI officials alleged that former health secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar, a 1991-batch IAS officer, and Dr Vijay Shankar Narain Singh, the state Reproductive Child Health Officer, fraudulently purchased medicines, medical equipment/appliances and other items used in hospitals from 19 suppliers without assessing the actual requirement and without observing the rules laid down for it.
CBI officials alleged that former health secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar, a 1991-batch IAS officer, and Dr Vijay Shankar Narain Singh, the state Reproductive Child Health Officer, fraudulently purchased medicines, medical equipment/appliances and other items used in hospitals from 19 suppliers without assessing the actual requirement and without observing the rules laid down for it.
According to the CBI, the purchases were worth more than Rs 130 crore and the amount squandered was out of the fund allotted under the National Rural Health Mission. "The accused persons bought those medicines and equipments which were of no use," said CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal.
The CBI officers raided 14 places in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Daltonganj and New Delhi, from where files and documents related to deals were recovered.
"The Kanke Road (in Ranchi) official residence of Kumar was raided when he was not present there. The list of seizures has not been made as search operation was still on," CBI SP R C Choudhary told The Indian Express. The raids followed an inquiry ordered by Governor K Sankarnarayanan into alleged irregularities in the purchase of medicines and other healthcare commodities. The CBI probe was ordered on the basis of the findings of an inquiry by the state health department.
"The Kanke Road (in Ranchi) official residence of Kumar was raided when he was not present there. The list of seizures has not been made as search operation was still on," CBI SP R C Choudhary told The Indian Express. The raids followed an inquiry ordered by Governor K Sankarnarayanan into alleged irregularities in the purchase of medicines and other healthcare commodities. The CBI probe was ordered on the basis of the findings of an inquiry by the state health department.
The inquiry by the Director (NRHM) Nitin Madan Kulkarni and Health Secretary Dr Shivendu found that the state Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) wing madethepurchaseswithoutfollowing the rules during 2008-09 when Kumar was the health secretary.
Explaining the irregularity, an official said, "For instance, the RCH purchased 102 types of medicines from local private companies during that period, despite the Union Heath Ministry's 2008 Purchase Preference Policy that called upon the state to buy medicines under the NRHM from PSUs."
In Monday's raids, the CBI recovered documents suggesting Kumar, his brother Rajendra, two suppliers Neeraj and Shayam Lal Chakravarty and RCH's Dr Vijay Shankar owned bunglows, market complexes and farm houses worth crores in Ranchi, Bangalore and New Delhi. Kumar is also alleged to have had a business deal with his chartered accountant Naresh Kejriwal and local builder Dharmendra Kumar Dheeraj, owner of a multiplex in Ranchi. In the raid at Kejriwal's premise, incriminating documents were seized, while at Dheeraj's office-cum-residence Rs 36 lakh cash was recovered. Kejriwal has been taken into custody.
In New Delhi, the sleuths sealed the bank account and locker owned by Rajendra. From Kumar's official residence, documents showing an FD of Rs 60 lakh were recovered.
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