On November 2, the records of Haryana’s Health Department’s Faridabad district office were seized. The scam involves four ambulances at BK Civil Hospital, where allegedly 50 lakh worth of diesel was drawn even though the ambulances were not in use for the last four months.
According to a report by TOI, on October 20, a fact-finding committee was set up by Dr. Jayant Ahuja to investigate the alleged fuel billing irregularities. NHM Director Virendra Yadav is also monitoring the situation.
The committee was directed to access all original records and transaction details and submit its report by November 5.
Dr. Virender Yadav, director of Haryana National Health Mission, said,
“The committee will examine fuel expenditure, expenses incurred during periods when vehicles were non-operational, fuel movement and consumption, and transactions through fuel cards. It will also scrutinise monitoring and approval mechanisms, assess possible financial irregularities and identify those responsible for any lapses.”
The scam came to light when headquarters cross-referenced state fuel-card transactions with the physical status of the fleet. Their findings revealed a massive gap between reality and paper.
According to the reports, two of the ambulances numbered HR38GV3491 and HR38GV9863 were parked close to the hospital's mortuary for four months, and the other two, numbered HR38Z0951 and HR38GV1670, have been at a mechanic workshop between January and August.
However, fuel cards for both sets of ambulances showed records of diesel refuelling between September 16th and October 11th.
As the investigation got more intense, it was revealed through CCTV footage that staff were using heavy cranes to tow the ambulances that were inside the repair workshop so that they could drop them off at the sub-health centres.
According to reports, the staff were trying to set up a scene for the police to believe that the ambulances were deployed.
To show fake data, the operators reportedly showed false patient logs and generated referral files that showed that the same patients were travelling to Delhi AIIMS several times during the day.
Dr. Virendra Yadav ordered an immediate transfer and suspension of four key personnel, which included fleet manager Harkesh Dakar, control room operator Anil Kumar, control room operator Dhanjay Pratap and another control room operator Anil Yadav. These people are asked to join duty no later than November 10.
According to reports, the embezzlement is suspected to be of 5 to 8 lakhs, while a detailed investigation of the scam is still underway.
According to a report by the HT, a 47-year-old man was arrested because he was impersonating a vigilance department officer.
The suspect is named Rajendra Singh, who is a resident of Bulandshahar. Rajendra barged into the office of CMO Dr. Jayant Ahuja on November 4.
He allegedly introduced himself as the chief vigilance officer and also threatened to get Dr. Ahuja fired. The man claimed that he was appointed to investigate the fuel billing ambulance scam case.
Rajendra said that he was appointed by a senior official who works at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Dr. Ahuja got very suspicious of the man’s behaviour and realised that Rajendra was a fake official who was trying to extort money. Dr. Ahuja alerted the police as soon as he realised that the suspect was an impersonator.
The Faridabad police teams rushed to the hospital, arrested the suspect, and took him to the NIT-3 police post.
(Rh/ARC)