Kochi. Kerala Vigilance has found serious irregularities in allocating medical aid from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. According to Indusscrolls report, funds were also given in the name of those who did not even apply. The fraud is carried out by a group of agents, doctors and officials. Medical assistance was also given to rich foreign Malayalis. More than 1500 medical certificates were issued by one doctor alone.
Based on the complaint that the agents are embezzling the relief funds, the vigilance team conducted inspections in all 14 collectorates.
In Thiruvananthapuram Anchuteng Panchayat, it was found that the amount was sanctioned in 16 applications made using the phone number of an agent. The money was sanctioned on the application of a liver patient with a certificate of heart disease.
Out of 20 medical certificates in Kollam, 13 were issued by an orthopaedic doctor. In Punalur taluk a doctor issued around 1500 certificates. In Karunagapally, out of 14 medical certificates, 11 are of one doctor. Moreover, a doctor issued four certificates in two stages to everyone in the household in two days.
Vigilance has decided to verify the authenticity of income certificates and medical certificates accompanying the application in the following days. Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham informed that agents and officials will be subjected to a detailed check on whether they have received the commission.
In Kottayam Mundakkayam, a person was sanctioned Rs 5000 from Kottayam Collectorate for heart disease in 2017 and Rs 10,000 from Idukki for the same disease in 2019. In 2020, the same person was given Rs 10,000 for cancer in Kottayam.
The medical certificate for all this was given by the orthopaedic specialist of Kanjirapally Government Hospital. Vigilance also found that when the phone number in the application was called by George, it was not him who submitted the application.
The rich foreign Malay who received assistance has a two-storey house and a car. He was also found to be the owner of a medical laboratory. In Idukki, names and disease details were cut off in medical certificates several times. It was also found that the phone number of the agent was with the other application. In Malappuram Nilambur, funds were also allocated to medical certificates that did not record the amount of expenditure.
Non-specialist doctors issued medical certificates for critical illnesses. In five of the 15 applications examined by Palakkad, the medical certificate for heart disease was issued by an Ayurvedic doctor. All these five applications are issued by the same agent. In Kasaragod, two medical certificates are in the same handwriting. But it was also found that the signatures were written by two doctors.
Courtesy – Indusscrolls
