Fake Ayushman cards case: ED seizes papers showing suspicious transactions worth ₹21 crore
The searches were carried out at 20 locations in Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh (Kangra, Una, Shimla, Mandi and Kullu) on July 31
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized documents containing information about suspicious transactions worth ₹21 crore for 23,000 patients during searches conducted in connection with a case of alleged generation of fake Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) cards in Himachal Pradesh, it said on Friday.
The searches were carried out at 20 locations in Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh (Kangra, Una, Shimla, Mandi and Kullu) on July 31 against Shree Banke Bihari Hospital, Fortis Hospital Himachal Healthcare Private Limited, City Super Specialty Hospital, Shri Balaji Hospital, Shri Harihar Hospital, Sood Nursing Home, Neelkanth Hospital, and their respective key management persons Dr. Vijender Minhas, Raghubir Singh Bali, Dr. Pradeep Makkar, Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Manish Bhatia, Dr. Manoj Sood, and Dr. Hemant Kumar, said the agency.
The ED probe is based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the State Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Bureau in Himachal Pradesh’s Una. “During investigation, as many as 373 fake Ayushman cards have been identified wherein claims of about ₹40.68 lakh were made for reimbursement from the government in the name of treatments given to the said Ayushman card beneficiaries…hospitals have made claims for treatments/surgery/admission which were actually never given/done to the patient,” it said.
A total of 8,937 Ayushman Bharat golden cards have been scrapped in the State so far for alleged violation of the scheme. “As per investigation conducted so far, the case involves Proceeds of Crime (PoC) of about ₹25 crore,” said the agency, adding that the searches also led to the discovery of about ₹88 lakh in cash, four bank lockers and 140 related bank accounts.
Papers of immovable and movable properties, books of accounts and other documents, 16 digital devices in the form of mobile phones/ipads, hard disks and pen drives were seized.
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