One arrested for allegedly forging and selling coronavirus reports in Gurugram

0
170

[google-translator]

Officials of the chief minister’s flying squad, Gurugram drug controller and the health department raided a private lab in DLF Phase 3 on Tuesday and arrested its manager for allegedly selling forged Covid-19 test reports to over 600 people in the last five months.

Police said the raid took several hours and ended with the arrest of the 22-year-old manager, identified as Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Mahipalpur in Delhi. The owner of the lab, Good Health Diagnostic Centre, a franchise of SRL Labs, police said, is out of town.

Inderjeet Yadav, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) with the CM’s flying squad said the suspect used to charge between 2,000 and 5,000 per report, but did not collect people’s samples for testing. He would sell positive reports to those who wanted to submit them to their offices and take a break, and negative reports to those who wanted to travel. “He not only sold the reports to Gurugram residents, but to people in Noida, Ghaziabad and Rajasthan as well. During questioning, the manager also revealed that he sold reports to international travellers for over 20,000,” the DSP said.

Police said they have recovered a laptop, printer, rubber stamp, mobile phone, letterheads and 12,500 from the suspect’s possession.

Gurugram chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Virender Yadav said. “The CM’s flying squad had informed us after they received a tip-off regarding forged reports and we guided them during the process. A decoy customer was sent four days ago and then we verified the reports and found they were forged. Our team had also gone along with the raiding party,” he said.

A case under sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forging document) and 471 (using forged document) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 52 of the Disaster Management Act was registered at DLF Phase 3 police station on Tuesday, said police.

Police confirmed the lab was a franchise of SRL Labs, and they are probing a Delhi branch’s involvement. Harish Budhiraja, an inspector with the CM flying squad, said, “No sample was collected in Gurugram, but the Delhi lab still sent reports, which were further tampered with in Gurugram. If SRL is not at fault, why would they issue reports without collecting samples?” he said.

HT is in possession of the agreement affidavit between SRL Limited and Good Health Diagnostic Centre which was signed on October 19, 2021.

Anuj Kumar Sharma, the owner of Good Health Diagnostic Centre, said he was aware of the raid and the arrest of his employee, but insisted he was being framed by a competitor. “A man contacted me and my staff and requested us for a fake report. We denied him but he kept pleading with us. I am not sure if my staff caved into the pressure. I think someone intentionally tried to frame me and my lab,” he said.

When contacted, a spokesperson of SRL Labs said they were aware of the issue and had begun an internal investigation. “We have a zero-tolerance policy against any unethical practices, and we will initiate appropriate action. SRL has the largest number of accredited and approved Covid-19 testing labs in India. Our values of quality and ethical practices have enabled us to deliver extensive services to citizens during this pandemic,” he said, adding all SRL reports carry a QR code that is directly linked to the server, and that this process was set in place to establish the authenticity of reports and ensure there is no misuse.


Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here