Rs 550 cr medical purchase scam: Chargesheet against six in Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offences Wing (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 Rs 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.