ED raids private hospitals in Himachal’s Una, Kangra districts over financial irregularities
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Sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) early Wednesday (July 31, 2024) swooped down on private hospitals in Una and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh to probe them for alleged financial irregularities.
Among the raided health facilities was Shri Bankey Bihari Hospital, Una, which had faced an FIR on January 23, 2023, pertaining to alleged fake Ayushman cards to avail free subsidy under the Union government’s Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. The scheme entails free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh in private as well as government hospitals across the country.
When the FIR was registered, 275 beneficiaries had availed of free treatment under the Ayushman scheme from the hospital. Upon scrutiny, the Ayushman cards of 69 of the beneficiaries were found to be fake.
The FIR was lodged at the police station in Dharamshala. The complaint was registered against Kiran Soni, a resident of Nangal in Ropar district of Punjab, who was employed as Arogya Mitra at Shri Bankey Bihari Hospital, Una.
The reasons behind the fresh ED raids on Wednesday were not known till the filing of the report as details were awaited. It was also not initially known as to how many hospitals were raided. In Kangra, a prominent hospital is owned by the family of top politician.
