Health Director, 2 others booked for forgery

The state Health Department Director, Dr Manish Bansal, and two others have been booked on charges of forgery and criminal conspiracy, following a court order by CJM Suyasha Jawa.

The case was registered at Fatehabad City police station on Monday against Dr Bansal, De-addiction Centre incharge Dr Girish Kumar, and CMO office clerk Bhanu Pratap.

The case was registered on the same day Dr Bansal was seen presenting a bouquet to Health Minister Aarti Rao at a public event.

The FIR follows a complaint by Dr Sanjeev Kumar, who runs a hospital at Bhuna. He alleged that in 2017, when Dr Bansal was CMO, a false case under the MTP Act was filed against him and his wife after they refused to pay bribes. The couple was acquitted in July 2022.

Dr Kumar said he filed a complaint with the CM Window in January 2020 regarding improper medical practices. During the inquiry in 2023, he refused to sign a statement prepared by Bhanu Pratap. Later, he discovered that his forged signature had been used to close the complaint.

Dr Kumar obtained documents via RTI and confirmed through a fingerprint expert in Hisar that the signatures were fake.

When contacted, Dr Bansal did not respond to calls or messages.