A team from the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Department arrested former Congress MLA Mukesh Srivastava, alias Gyanendra Pratap Srivastava, one of the main accused in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam, from Wave Mall in Lucknow on Tuesday.
The arrest was made in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
Advertisement
According to a press note issued by the Vigilance Department, case number 11/2023 has been registered against former MLA Mukesh Srivastava of Payagpur (Bahraich) at the Vigilance Department Police Station, Lucknow Sector. The investigation revealed that during his tenure as MLA from March 6, 2012, to March 11, 2017, he acquired assets disproportionate to his known and legitimate sources of income. Based on this, he was arrested under Sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended 2018).
Advertisement
According to vigilance officials, in addition to the disproportionate assets charge, three other cases related to the NRHM scam have been registered against Mukesh Srivastava, in which investigations and evidence collection are ongoing.
According to a press note, FIR No. 07/2026, registered at the Police Station Vigilance Establishment, Lucknow Sector, alleges widespread financial irregularities in NRHM schemes in Shravasti district between 2017-18 and 2021-22. Meanwhile, FIR No. 08/2026 is investigating alleged irregularities in health department schemes in Balrampur district during the same period.
Additionally, an investigation is underway into allegations of financial irregularities and corruption related to NRHM schemes in Gonda district, based on FIR No. 08/2025 registered at the Police Station Vigilance Establishment, Ayodhya Sector.
The vigilance investigation also revealed that financial rules were ignored in the health department’s maintenance work, purchase of medicines and medical equipment, vehicle operation, medical reimbursement payments, and other schemes. It is alleged that in many cases, work was awarded without following the tender process, and full payment was received after partial work was completed.
In addition to former MLA Mukesh Srivastava, the then Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ghanshyam Singh, Dr Satyadev, Medical Superintendent Dr Praveen Kumar, Senior Assistant Ajay Kumar Srivastava, Junior Engineer Ram Manohar Maurya, Junior Assistant Poonam Singh, and Rajendra Prasad Srivastava, proprietor of RP Group of Construction, have also been named in the case filed in Balrampur district.
The investigating agency alleges that government funds were misused through collusion between departmental officials and contractors. Payments were released without verifying the quality and actual progress of many works, causing significant financial losses to the government treasury.
It is noteworthy that the NRHM scam has been one of the most notorious health scams in Uttar Pradesh. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had previously arrested Mukesh Srivastava in connection with this scam. Recently, the Vigilance Department also filed a new case against him for alleged irregularities in the purchase of medicines and medical equipment.
Advertisement
