Palwal CMO arrested while taking Rs 1 lakh bribe

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested Dr Jai Bhagwan, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Palwal, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh. The CMO had reportedly demanded Rs 15 lakh from three partners of a private hospital by threatening to close down the hospital. On searching the house of the CMO, the ACB team recovered Rs 3 lakh from a cupboard.

The CMO had celebrated the birthday of Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam in office on July 2. The photos of the event had gone viral.

According to the ACB, the CMO had demanded a bribe of Rs 15 lakh. The hospital operators had given Rs 7 lakh in two instalments to the CMO, and later complained to the ACB.

The team, led by Inspector Jai Pal, set up a trap on Thursday night and arrested the CMO at around 11 pm while accepting the bribe at his government residence in Palwal. A case has been registered.

The complainant, Manohar, had filed a complaint, saying that he was running a trauma hospital, along with his two partners, Dheeraj and Subhash. The hospital had been set up about three months ago, and the CMO was repeatedly threatening to close down the hospital, citing deficiencies in functioning.

Earlier, the CMO had been suspended in Jind, where he had allegedly rigged the recruitment of ayurvedic medical officers. A case of molestation of a woman doctor had also been registered against him in Sonepat.