Two accused in PGI patient fund scam case denied bail
Public funds worth Rs 1.14 crore in various schemes were misappropriated
The CBI court here has dismissed the anticipatory bail applications of two dismissed employees of the PGI, Sunil Kumar and Gaganpreet Singh, in a case registered for allegedly siphoning off poor patient fund.
The CBI had registered the case after a preliminary inquiry carried out by the CBI on the basis of the report of the Chief Vigilance Officer, PGIMER, Chandigarh, regarding the misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds worth Rs 1.14 crore in various beneficiary schemes under Private Grant Cell (PGC) at the PGI.
Both accused argued that they had been falsely named by the chemists to protect themselves. They were working as contractual employees at the institute. They had not been named in the departmental inquiry but the committee made the contractual employees scapegoats, they alleged.
The commission of crime had come to light in 2021, but the PGIMER had kept it concealed for over four years. They were ready to join the investigation. Since their services had been terminated, they were not having any control over the records of the institute, both accused argued.
However, the prosecution opposed the bail. The court said both accused-petitioners had been working in the PGC. It was also one of their duties to prepare utilisation certificates and issue these to the funding agency. At this stage, there can be no denial of any conspiracy between the accused petitioners and other officials/unknown persons, thereby facilitating and enabling the embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.
The preliminary inquiry discloses specific procedural manipulation and abuse of the position by the accused-petitioners and others. It is a matter of investigation as to whether they had the last access to the files when the same went missing or deleted and/or as to whether the files were lastly opened while using their IDs.
At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that they have been made the scapegoats and prima facie, they deliberately acted in processing fraudulent files, preparing bogus noting, creating fake supply orders etc., thereby facilitating the diversion of grant funds to unauthorised beneficiaries.
