Ex-health official booked for misappropriating Covid testing kits in Pune

The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by Dr Satish Kolsure, who took the matter to court, following which a local court directed the police to register a case, official said

The Pune police have registered an offence against a former chief health officer and two others for allegedly misappropriating COVID-19 testing kits, medicines, and sanitisers intended for a civic-run hospital during the pandemic in 2021 and selling them to private laboratories for personal gains, an official said on Friday.

The Warje Malwadi police on Thursday registered a case against Dr Ashish Bharti, the former chief health officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation, Dr Aruna Tarde and Dr Rushikesh Gardi under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 465 (forgery) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the official said.

The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by Dr Satish Kolsure, who took the matter to court, following which a local court directed the police to register a case, he said.

According to the police, the accused allegedly created fake records at Arvind Bartakke Hospital in the Warje Malwadi area between January and December 2021 by forging entries of patients to make it seem like materials such as testing kits, sanitisers, and medicines were utilised at the facility.

The accused subsequently sold these items to private laboratories and individuals for personal gains and profited to the tune of Rs 80 lakh to Rs 90 lakh, the official added.