The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids in private hospitals in Himachal Pradesh in connection with a Rs 46.48 lakh scam relating to fake AB-PMJAY (Arogya Bharat-Pradhanmantri Jan Arogya Yojna) cards.
Apart from Himachal Pradesh, the raids are being conducted across Delhi, Chandigarh and Punjab. In Himachal Pradesh, 19 locations in Shimla, Kangra, Una, Mandi, and Kullu were searched on Wednesday.
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The premises searched include those of Congress leaders R S Bali MLA Nagrota Assembly constituency and Rajesh Sharma who was one of the contenders for Dehra Assembly by-poll. Both of them are said to be close associates of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The fraud in Ayushman cards came to light after a FIR under sections 420, 467, 468, and 471 of IPC was filed by Himachal Pradesh State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (AV and ACB), Una in January 2023 against Una hospital Shri Banke Bihari Hospital and others for allegedly generating fake AB-PMJAY cards.
The ED initiated a money laundering case on July 16 this year based on the FIR by the (AV and ACB), Una.
According to the ED, many medical bills were generated on fake cards, causing a loss to the exchequer and public.
Apart from Bankey Bihari Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Sri Balaji Hospital, Sood Nursing Home and Sri Harihar Hospital are amongst the private hospitals that allegedly availed of the illegal benefits under the AB-PMJAY scheme.
