Alappuzha (Keralam), | The VACB has registered a case against five officials, including a doctor, of the Alappuzha Medical College at Vandanam for allegedly extending undue financial benefits to a private laboratory, causing an estimated loss of Rs 3.26 crore to the government, officials said on Sunday.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau registered the case on its own following a preliminary inquiry conducted last month, they said.
The accused were identified as Dr Ramlal, Assistant Professor at the college; former account officers Prasanan K C, Sasidharan M and Muhammad Ansar; and former secretary Biju B.
According to the VACB, the accused, who held various administrative positions at the college between June 2017 and July 2023, allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to extend undue financial benefits to Chetana Janakeeya Lab.
They allegedly failed to maintain ledgers, cash books and tender registers relating to government health insurance schemes, including the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP), and did not invite annual tenders for the empanelment of laboratories, officials said.
Instead of inviting e-tenders for laboratory tests unavailable at the college’s central laboratory, the accused invited quotations and selected Chetana Janakeeya Lab, according to the FIR.
The laboratory was allegedly permitted to conduct 396 additional tests beyond the 257 specified in its quotation, without following prescribed norms, the FIR said.
The accused allegedly cleared the laboratory’s bills at rates fixed by it, without proper scrutiny, until 2021, resulting in an alleged wrongful gain of Rs 20.30 lakh to the laboratory and a corresponding loss to the government, it said.
The VACB alleged that the accused later enabled the laboratory to submit bills amounting to Rs 9.26 crore, potentially resulting in a further wrongful gain of Rs 3.06 crore.
The case has been registered under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
As part of the investigation, documents were collected from the college and statements of key witnesses were recorded, officials said.