The Crime Branch of Odisha Police on Thursday took over the investigation of the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) fraud case at privately-owned Southpoint hospital in Cuttack.
As per reports, some staff of the hospital along with some middlemen were allegedly withdrawing lakhs of rupees from the government exchequer by creating false bills under the BSKY without actually hospitalising patients.
The actual card holders or the beneficiaries were handed over a paltry amount of Rs 2,000 each while the accused claimed lakhs of rupees from the state government towards treatment.
Based on the written report of the complainant, Krushna Chandra Bhoi, a case was registered at Bentkara (Bayalish Mouza, Cuttack) Police Station on January 9, 2023 on the order of DGP Odisha.
The police have already arrested five accused; Laxmidhar Lenka of Kulasarichuan village, Trinath Behera of Tailipada, Subhranshu Sekhar Raut, (admin staff of South Point Hospital), Umakanta Saseni (Security Manager) and Binay Santuka (owner of South Point hospital).
As per the police, the accused trapped gullible and poor beneficiaries on the pretext of providing them cash of Rs 2000 for renewal of BSKY card. They used to take them to the South Point Hospital where their finger prints were used in the biometric system following which their BSKY cards were swiped and false bills prepared in order to siphon public money.
The accused are currently in judicial custody. Fourteen BSKY cards have been seized from their possession till now, according to sources.
The Crime Branch team has assumed charge of investigation and they are likely to request the court to take the accused on a remand.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has de-empanelled the hospital from the BSKY scheme. Apart from de-empanelment, the state government has also announced to disengage the Swasthya Mitra deployed at the concerned hospital.
(Reported By Alok Mohanty, OTV)