CBI arrests 2 CGHS officers on graft charge

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested an additional director of CGHS, Meerut, on Tuesday and two more for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from a hospital for not de-empanelling them from a government scheme, an official said. The probe agency arrested Additional Director Ajay Kumar and office Superintendent Lavesh Solanki, both posted in Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Swasthya Bhavan Meerut, and a middleman, Raees Ahmad. The CBI had earlier booked them on a complaint from a director of the hospital group, alleging that Kumar and his cronies demanded a bribe for not de-empanelling two hospitals affiliated with the group.The complainant Medical Group runs various hospitals in and around Meerut with different names.

The complaint centred around a surprise inspection conducted by a team from CGHS Meerut on July 8 at two of the group's hospitals. The CGHS team issued notices citing "frivolous deficiencies" in both facilities and threatened to de-empanel them, allegedly to extort money, they said. The de-empanelment of the hospitals would have rendered them ineligible for treating patients under the CGHS scheme.

"Both the accused public servants had insisted on the delivery of bribe amount of Rs 50 lakh at the earliest to avoid de-empanelment of the hospitals," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement. The officials agreed to accept a partial payment of Rs 5 lakh as the first instalment of the bribe, but then the hospital complained. A team raided the premises where Kumar, Solanki and Ahmad were caught red-handed while taking the bribe, the spokesperson said.The agency also conducted searches at the residences of the accused

(Crime Correspondent)