CBI uncovers Rs 100 crore ECHS scam, seizes fake lab reports and commission network
Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): The CBI has made significant discoveries during its investigation into a nearly ₹100 crore scam involving the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). The investigating agency has recovered key documents related to fake lab reports, forged medical certificates, and fake bills.
A hard disk was seized from a diagnostic center in Sector 38, Chandigarh, and evidence of fraud was also uncovered at a private hospital in Sector 15. The CBI investigation revealed that the entire network of treatment services under the ECHS was commission-based.
An organization called "Manthan Health Care" allegedly provided patients to various hospitals and charged substantial commissions. It has been revealed that the organization was run by an anesthesiologist and a BAMS degree holder.
Through them, the doctor from Medicine was further linked. The CBI has also questioned Dr. Rimple and Dr. Vikas. The agency is also questioning several other suspects.
According to the complaint, the diagnostic center in Sector 38 was preparing fake lab reports. Based on these reports, patients were prescribed expensive injections and medications. In many cases, patients were shown as admitted only on paper, while they were not actually admitted to the hospital.
At Dharam Hospital in Sector 15, dozens of patients were shown to have been treated under the ECHS. It is alleged that patients were also given a share in the high-priced billing. The investigation also revealed a major scam involving expensive injections. The same injection's boil number was found in the records of several different patients.
Injections costing between 5,000 and 10,000 rupees were shown to have been administered to several patients. Bills for injections and medicines totaling 3,000,000 to 4,000 rupees were generated for each patient. The CBI has also obtained documentary evidence of this.
Patients were brought to Chandigarh from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu through agents. In many cases, patients were only shown as admitted on paperwork. The CBI will now include in its investigation the patients in whose names the medical bills were raised. Furthermore, the agency is investigating possible complicity of government officials.