Four held for selling government scheme medicines on open market

Four persons, including a pharmacist, were arrested in New Delhi on charges of fraudulently procuring medicines worth Rs 18 lakh meant to be distributed under a government scheme and selling it in the open market, police said today.
   
The gang, led by the pharmacist, allegedly got documents of at least 47 beneficiaries from the database of 'Central Government Health Scheme' (CGHS) and fraudulently got medicines issued under their cards.   

The arrested have been identified as Attar Singh, 46, a pharmacist in a CGHS dispensary in Nanak Pura, Satish Kumar, 40, Sanjeev Kumar, 40 and Manoj Kumar, 27, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ashok Chand said.   

"Medicines procured by the gang were then sold at 50 per cent of the prescribed rates. For more than 18 months, Singh has been running this racket. He has caused a loss over more than Rs 18 lakh to the exchequer," Chand said. "He himself claims to have made more than Rs 8-10 lakh which he says that he has invested in property."   

Started in 1954, the CGHS provides comprehensive health care facilities for beneficiaries, including central government employees, pensioners and MPs, residing in 25 cities across the country.
   
Medicines with a stamp 'CGHS supply not for sale' worth Rs 1 lakh, 47 CGHS cards, seven stamps of doctors of AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospitals and 29 OPD cards of various specialist hospitals were recovered from them.   

"They were arrested from Gole Market on Wednesday on a tip off," Chand said.
   
"Singh got access to CGHS data bank and found out the names of the card holders who had not used the card for over three years. He then procured a fresh card using these data.   

Sanjeev then got OPD cards issued from various government hospitals in the name of the card holder.
   
Then on the OPD card, Singh allegedly filled in the medicines that he wanted to fraudulently procure from the dispensary and forged signatures of the doctors.   

"He used to get the medicines issued in the name of the card holder. Manoj was tasked with selling it in the market. The sticker on the medicine stating 'CGHS supply Not for Sale' would be removed and if it was stamped, they would scrub it with the help of thinner," Chand said.