New Delhi: The CBI has filed a charge sheet against Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital cardiologist Parvatagouda Channappagouda, middlemen and surgical equipment suppliers in connection with the alleged bribery in recommending their stents and other paraphernalia for surgery, officials said Wednesday.
In addition to Assistant Professor Parvatagouda, the CBI has also named equipment suppliers Naresh Nagpal of Nagpal Technologies, Abrar Ahmed of Scienmed, sales manager of Biotroniks Akarshan Gulati and his colleague Monika Sinha, and others.
In its charge sheet filed before a special CBI court here within 60 days of busting the alleged bribery ring at the RML Hospital, the agency invoked Indian Penal Code section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act pertaining to bribery, they said.
The CBI busted the ring operating at multiple levels at the hospital on May 9, arresting nine persons, including Parvatagouda.
The CBI had also arrested cardiology Professor Ajay Raj, clerks Bhuval Jaiswal and Sanjay Kumar, the hospital’s Cath Lab in-charge Rajnish Kumar, middleman Vikas Kumar, and medical equipment suppliers Naresh Nagpal of Nagpal Technologies, Bharat Singh Dalal of Bharti Medical Technologies, and Abrar Ahmed of Scienmed.
The probe into roles of other accused is still ongoing and the agency may file supplementary charge sheets in the case, they said.
The CBI FIR had alleged that Parvatagouda was collecting bribes from medical equipment and stent suppliers to recommend their products to the patients under treatment at the government hospital.
Parvatagouda had allegedly asked medical suppliers to pay the bribes he was supposed to get as early as possible. On May 2, he asked Nagpal to pay a bribe of Rs 2.48 lakh, which the latter assured him would be done, according to the CBI.
The CBI claimed that Parvatagouda also asked Ahmed on April 23 to pay all bribes as soon as possible because he was going on a summer vacation to Europe. The CBI has alleged that Ahmed had earlier made the payment of Rs 1.95 lakh in an account operated by Parvatagouda’s father Basant Gauda in March.
He allegedly made a similar demand to another medical supplier Akarshan Gulati, who told the doctor that one of his employees would make the payments. Parvatagouda contacted the employee and asked her to pay Rs 36,000 through UPI and the remaining in cash, the probe agency had said.
