Probe team gets non-bailable warrants against 3 accused
Police teams sent to Haryana and Delhi to arrest owners of Max Corporate Services
DEHRADUN: The special investigation team (SIT) of Haridwar police, probing the alleged fake Covid-19 test scam during the Mahakumbh, has obtained nonbailable warrants (NBW) from court against three accused, including the owners of Max Corporate Services agency, officials said.
According to police officers, the NBWs were against Sharat Pant and his wife Mallika Pant, both owners of Noida-based Max Corporate Services, and Dr Navtej Nalwa of Hisar-based Nalwa Laboratories which allegedly conducted about 53,000 fake Covid-19 tests at the Mahakumbh. Max Corporate Services had given contract to Nalwa Labs and Lalchandani Labs of Delhi to conduct Covid tets.
“We had applied for the NBWs in the local district court on Friday, which we received on Saturday,” said circle officer Abhay Pratap Singh who is part of the SIT. “Police teams will now put in all efforts to nab the accused.”
Police teams left for Delhi and Haryana for the arrest of the accused on Sunday.
“Search underway to locate accused Mallika Pant and Sharat Pant of Max Corporate Service, Delhi and Dr Navtej Nalwa of Hisar’s Nalwa Lab in Maha Kumbh fake Covid testing scam case. Police have obtained a nonbailable warrant against the accused in the case,” said SA Krishnaraj S, Haridwar senior superintendent of police (SSP).
The accused couple is on the run since the period of protection against arrest granted by the Uttarakhand high court ended on August 4.
“The couple is on the run to evade arrest despite the fact that their protection period from arrest granted by the high court ended long ago. Dr Nalwa, who is the owner of Nalwa Laboratories, has failed to present himself before police despite several notices,” said another SIT officer privy to the probe developments in the case. “Two teams are currently in Delhi and Haryana in search of the absconding accused. They will soon be nabbed.”
The Uttarakhand high court had earlier rejected the recall applications of the state government regarding HC’s June 23 and June 29 orders pertaining to petitions of the owners of Max Corporate Services. With this, the SIT is now free to arrest both the accused, said JS Virk, deputy advocate general, who represented the state government in the matter.
The Mahakumbh fake Covid testing scam came to light in June when a Faridkot resident complained to the authorities that he received a message for collecting his Covid-19 report despite never having been tested. The complaint triggered a probe in nearly 100,000 Covid tests conducted during the Kumbh. On June 17, Haridwar police booked Max Corporate Services, and Nalwa and Lalchandani labs in connection with the scam.
On June 18, Haridwar police formed the SIT to assist the investigation in the cases registered in connection with the scam. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand government has suspended two officers in the fake Covid testing scam for “indiscipline, carelessness and colluding with the private firms” concerned, thus incurring financial loss to the state exchequer.
The suspended officers are Dr Arjun Singh Sengar, then mela health officer (state health department), and Dr NK Tyagi, then in-charge officer (state health department), Kumbh
Mela, said a government statement. The action comes in the wake of the report from the districtlevel probe committee on August 14.
Haridwar chief development officer Saurabh Gaharwar, who headed a committee that probed the alleged fake Covid-19 tests, had submitted his report to district magistrate Vinay Shankar Pandey.
The report, which is of more than 1,100 pages, raised questions over the role of two senior health department officials on giving the contract to the accused private agency, Max Corporate Services, for conducting the tests.
After getting the contact, the Noida-based private agency had given sub-contracts to testing laboratories. The four-month Mela was curtailed this year to one month (April 1-30) but devotees thronged Haridwar for months despite experts saying rampant violation of Covid protocol could spark a surge in infections. Roughly 9.1 million pilgrims took the holy dip in the Ganga from January 14 to April 27, including at least six million people in April, coinciding with the worst surge in the second wave of the pandemic.