Dialysis kit scam: Medical college ex-principal booked

Amritsar, January 20

The Vigilance Bureau has reportedly booked three persons, including former principal of the local Government Medical College (GMC), in connection with an alleged scam wherein dialysis kits were procured from a firm at three times the market rate.

Ravinder Sultanwind, an RTI activist, had blown the lid off the scam in 2013, but the authorities had failed to verify the facts and carry out investigations. Sultanwind later submitted a complaint to the Vigilance.

Though SSP Vigilance RK Bakshi and DSP Navjot Singh did not respond to the repeated calls, sources confirmed the development, saying former GMC principal, the owner of the company and an accountant of the medical college were among the accused. No one was arrested as yet.

As per the details, the GMC has procured around 1,000 dialysis kits in 2012 from a Bathinda-based firm. Each kit was bought at Rs 1,750 and a payment of Rs 17.5 lakh was made to the company. However, Sultanwind through RTI information revealed that the actual cost of the kit in the market was just over Rs 600. He approached the authorities, demanding a high-level probe into the scam. Ironically, the authorities had failed to initiate any inquiry to verify the claims. — TNS