ED registers money laundering case against Medanta hospital
THE PMLA CASE IS BASED ON A GURUGRAM POLICE FIR FILED ON JUNE 6. THE MEDANTA HOSPITAL HAS, HOWEVER, DENIED
THE ALLEGATIONS AS ‘FALSE, BASELESS
AND MOTIVATED’
nNEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money-laundering case against Medanta Hospital, its chairman Dr Naresh Trehan and unknown Haryana government officers for alleged irregularities in the allotment of land to the hospital in 2004, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
The ED’S PMLA (prevention of money laundering act) case is based on a Gurugram police FIR filed on June 6 naming Trehan’s company Global Health Pvt Ltd, which runs Medicity at Sector 38, Gurugram, among others.
The ED has named all the 16 accused mentioned in the Gurugram police FIR, an official said. This includes two officers of the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP)
An RTI (right to information) activist Raman Sharma filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the matter in the court of additional district and sessions judge Ashwani Kumar, citing irregularities and use of several companies for laundering money.
The Medanta hospital has denied the allegations as “false, baseless and motivated”.
In a statement on Wednesday, Trehan said, “The allegations in his complaint pertain to the 16-year-old land allotment on which the hospital is built. Everything about this land allotment, which was done through a public auction, is absolutely legal. The allegations in the complaint are nothing short of absurd. We have built one of the finest hospitals in this part of the world, and we are proud of the work we do.”
“This complaint is nothing but harassment by Raman Sharma, who has chosen to file this complaint while we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite being over 70 years of age I continue to tend to my patients, even in the face of this pandemic, and at risk to myself. It is of grave concern that doctors and hospitals are having to bear the brunt of harassment, by people of dubious antecedents,” Trehan said.
The case pertains to the allotment of land to the hospital in 2004. The Haryana government, through HSVP, allotted 53 acres of land in Sector 38 along the Delhi-jaipur road (NH-48), for the development of Medicity.
An official statement on Tuesday by Medanta Hospital on the Gurugram police FIR said: “This complaint has been filed by a person who claims to be an RTI activist. However, it has been reported in the press that he has had an FIR for extortion registered against him. All the allegations in this complaint are completely false, baseless and motivated.”
Sharma had alleged that Medanta, in connivance with government officials, obtained pecuniary advantage as “land meant for institutional purposes was used for pure commercial, speculative and self servient purposes” and several acres of land were allotted at undervalued rates. Sharma also alleged that the accused obtained occupational certificates based on misrepresentation, as there was no area on the premises that was allocated for medical and paramedical education, as advertised.
In his complaint, which is now part of the FIR, Sharma has alleged that the Haryana government in 2004 evicted locals from their ancestral land in the area, now known as Sector 38, Gurugram, for public purpose under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984. Thereafter, the state government, through the HUDA (Haryana urban development authority), released an advertisement for the ‘Medicity Project’, which was envisaged to have super-speciality hospitals of international standards, academic medical institutions and other institutions related to medical care and research to provide state-of-the-art facilities at one place along with ancillary and subservient services in the form of a shopping mall and a yatri niwas (guest lodge).
Sharma has further alleged that factors of eligibility, and terms and conditions were nullified at various stages by accused government officials causing pecuniary advantage to Trehan, Sachdeva, Punj and Jain, and causing immense loss to the state. “Accused 5 (government officials) abused position by criminal misconduct and influence, caused pecuniary advantage to accused 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Trehan, Sachdeva, Punj and Jain),” the complaint stated.
Thegovernmentofficialsallotted the entire site of Medicity to Trehan without any consideration of his financial capability, he added.
In its Tuesday statement, the hospital said Sharma had previously filed two cases, one in a Patiala House court and another in the Delhi high court, identical to this one, and both were dismissed. “Extortionists have found a fertile breeding ground, while claiming to be RTI activists. The fact that the allegations in his complaint pertain to the 16-yearold land allotment on which the hospital is built demonstrates this,” the statement said.
The FIR was registered on Saturday at Sadar police station after Sharma, a resident of Malibu Town condominium in the city, approached the district court. On June 5, the court directed the police to lodge an FIR within 24 hours of the receipt of the complaint. It observed that without proper investigation, justice could not be ensured in the case and for that, lodging an FIR was a prerequisite.
Sharma on Wednesday refuted the Tuesday statement released by the hospital. “I chose to contest the allegations of extortion against me and in that trial, neither the statement of the complainant nor other witnesses have been recorded. That matter is sub judice. In this case, I shall be submitting documents supporting the allegations in the court.”