Lucknow:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today made three big arrests in Uttar Pradesh's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam. Two senior Uttar Pradesh government officials and a trader were arrested in connection with the scam.
The two senior bureaucrats, SP Ram, a former Director General of the family welfare department and Abhay Kumar Vajpayee, Managing Director of UP Small Scale Industries Corporation, were arrested for irregularites.
The third person arrested on Friday was Saurabh Jain, a Moradabad based businessman, who is one of the main suppliers who benfitted from the medicine tenders too.
Dr Ram was arrested after he was grilled all of Thursday. His role has been under the scanner for irregularities in awarding tenders to medicine suppliers and building contractors.
Mr Vajpayee was held for alleged irregularities in sanctioning the procurement of medical supplies from Kanpur-based wholesale suppliers.
The CBI raided 60 locations in Lucknow, Moradabad, Kanpur and Delhi on Wednesday in the case. Charges like criminal code of conduct and misuse of office were framed against several Uttar Pradesh health officials during the raids.
Former minister Babu Singh Kushwaha's residence in Lucknow was raided. Mr Kushwaha, a BSP OBC leader of the state, was sacked by Mayawati following his alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam. He was inducted into the BJP, which now has led to a major controversy.
The CBI had registered five cases on January 2 against certain government and private sector officials, including one against Kushwaha alleging loss of about Rs 28 crore in
implementing the Centrally-sponsored scheme meant for 72 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
NRHM funds to the tune of about Rs 10,000 crore were allocated to Uttar Pradesh for the period 2005-06 till date by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
The agency has already arrested former Uttar Pradesh Jal Board General Manager P K Jain yesterday in this connection.
The CBI had registered a case against Jain on January 2 for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 5.46 crore in the upgrading work of 134 district hospitals.
The agency has alleged that Rs 13.4 crore was given to Construction and Design Services, a unit of UP Jal Nigam, for the upgrade work of 134 districts hospitals. It alleged that the work was sub-let to a Ghaziabad-based firm on the basis of bogus and forged documents.
"The materials installed in the hospitals were found to be of inferior and sub-standard quality thereby causing an approximate loss of Rs 5.46 crore to the exchequer," the CBI
alleged.
It claimed to have recovered three kgs of gold and cash of Rs 1.10 crore besides some important documents during search operations at Jain's residence yesterday.
(With inputs from PTI)