ED raids hospitals of two HP Cong leaders

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, July 31
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided several private hospitals in Kangra, Una and Kullu districts, including two owned by prominent Congress leaders, as part of a money laundering probe linked to the alleged Ayushman Bharat scheme fraud.

Ayushman ‘fraud’

• ED probing alleged fraud of ~25 crore through misuse of Ayushman Bharat cards
• It claims medical bills generated on ‘fake’ cards, causing a loss to exchequer

In Kangra, the ED raided Fortis Hospital, which is owned by Congress’ Nagrota Bagwan MLA RS Bali, and Shri Balaji Hospital, owned by HPCC treasurer Rajesh Sharma. In Una, Banke Bihari Hospital was raided.
Bali is also the Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. Sharma had contested the 2022 Assembly elections from Dehra. He gave up his ticket for the recent Dehra Assembly bypoll for CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur, which she won.
When contacted, Bali said he had nothing to hide. “We have provided all documents sought by the ED. Fortis follows the best ethical practices and I am sure nothing will come out against the institution. Presently, I am out of station on vacation with my family and will be back soon. I will cooperate fully with the agency,” he said. Sharma could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Sources said the ED was investigating an alleged fraud of Rs 25 crore through the misuse of Ayushman Bharat cards in the state. They said according to the

ED, many medical bills were generated on “fake” cards, causing a loss to the exchequer. The agency reportedly found that a total of 8,937 Ayushman Bharat cards had been scrapped in the state over alleged violations till now.
The sources said the ED investigation revealed Bankey Bihari Hospital in Una and Fortis Hospital, Shri Balaji Hospital, Sood Nursing Home and Sri Harihar Hospital, all in Kangra, availed “illegal benefits” under the central scheme.
The raids were conducted on the basis of a case registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in Una in July last year. The case was registered under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC against Kiran Soni, owner of Banke Bihari Hospital. The ED registered another case on July 16, 2024, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as part of its investigation.