CBI FIR over fraud in AIIMS' surgery department procurement

The CBI has registered a case of alleged irregularities in awarding of tenders in the surgery department of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The CBI has booked Naresh Kumar, an Upper Division Clerk at AIIMS and Chandani Jhatta, owner of H S Enterprises, a private firm, in the case of alleged fraud in awarding of 17 tenders worth over Rs 24.17 lakh. Jagmohan Rishi, a representative of H S Enterprises, has also been booked.

The name of H S Enterprises was also red-flagged by the then chief vigilance officer AIIMS Sanjiv Charturvedi in his report to the CBI dated May 19, 2014.

"It has been found that there is a specific trend that rate enquiries were received from five suppliers and H S Enterprises...invariably emerged the lowest," the report had said.

"It is evident that orders were deliberately divided/split to avoid sanction of higher authority," it said.

The report had said that there was clear malafide for obtaining undue pecuniary advantages for these firms by deliberately suppressing healthy competition.

In its FIR filed recently, the CBI has alleged that in 2013-14, total 27 supply orders through rate enquiries were awarded by the Store Office of the surgery department in AIIMS.

The CBI enquiry showed that H S Enterprises is a proprietary firm having its office in Defence Colony.

The proprietor of the firm is Jatta and Rishi is her associate.

The FIR alleged that Rishi forged and signed the letter heads of Bhagwan Dass Narinder Kumar and used these letter heads for quoting the rate enquiries of surgery department of AIIMS, Delhi.

Subsequently, most of these tenders were awarded to H S Enterprises, the CBI alleged.

The forgery also took place on the letter heads of Harsh Scientific and Sai Mediwell, the agency alleged, adding that a UDC of AIIMS was in connivance.

The agency found that Bhagwan Dass Narinder Kumar and Harsh Scientific and Sai Mediwell never submitted quotations to AIIMS.

It is alleged that forged quotations were submitted for the purpose of cheating in the rate enquiry tenders floated by the store office of AIIMS for falsely showing participation of more than three firms, a mandatory requirement.