CBI booked a Jodhpur private hospital and unidentified Railway officials over an alleged ₹1.5 crore medical reimbursement fraud case.
The FIR alleges inflated bills, false ICU admissions, and claims for medicines not administered to patients.
The alleged irregularities occurred under a cashless treatment arrangement with Divisional Railway Hospital, Jodhpur, from 2022 to 2024.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the directors of a private hospital in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, along with unidentified Railway officials and other unknown individuals, over an alleged ₹1.5 crore medical reimbursement fraud involving railway employees. ETV Bharat reported that the alleged irregularities occurred between 2022 and 2024, when reimbursement claims submitted under a cashless treatment arrangement were allegedly inflated, resulting in an estimated loss to Indian Railways.
The case originated from a complaint by the Divisional Railway Hospital, Jodhpur, following a preliminary CBI inquiry into reimbursement claims submitted under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the private hospital for cashless treatment of eligible railway beneficiaries.
According to the FIR, the CBI found that the private hospital submitted reimbursement claims for high-cost medicines that were not administered to patients. The agency also alleged that general ward patients were shown as ICU admissions to increase claim amounts, ETV Bharat reported.
According to CBI officials quoted in the FIR, “Claims for patient treatment were submitted for payment, but a preliminary CBI investigation revealed serious irregularities. The medical records submitted for payment were inflated, differing significantly from the original bills issued to the patients or their relatives.”
The FIR further highlighted discrepancies between discharge summaries and the documents submitted for reimbursement. In some cases, claims included ICU-specific medicines despite patients not receiving intensive care, while officials also noted inconsistencies in the signatures of treating doctors on certain discharge summaries.
The CBI stated that these alleged irregularities resulted in a wrongful loss of approximately ₹1.5 crore to Indian Railways.
The CBI suspects a possible criminal conspiracy involving unknown public servants linked to the Divisional Railway Hospital, Jodhpur, and other private individuals. According to the FIR, the case was registered against the private hospital director, unidentified public servants, and other individuals after the agency found suspected irregularities in reimbursement claims.
CBI officials said, “This has been deemed a criminal conspiracy. Consequently, a case has been registered against the director of the private hospital, unknown public servants from the Divisional Railway Hospital, Jodhpur, and other unknown private individuals.”
The investigation has been assigned to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) U.K. Sharma by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Jodhpur CBI. Further inquiry will examine the role of individuals involved in processing and approving the disputed claims.
(Rh/TP/MSM)