Fake Covid reports: Private lab owners in Amritsar booked for attempt to murder

VIGILANCE BUREAU

REGISTERS CASE AGAINST PRIVATE HOSPITAL OWNER, DOCTOR FOR COMMITTING FRAUD

AMRITSAR: The vigilance bureau has booked four persons, including the owners of Tuli Diagnostic Centre in Amritsar, under attempt to murder charges for endangering the lives of the people by issuing fake reports of Covid-19. Besides, the bureau has also booked a private hospital owner and its doctor for allegedly colluding with the lab and committing fraud.

The accused are diagnostic centre’s owner Dr Robin Tuli, his wife Dr Ridham Tuli, pathologist Dr Sanjay Piplani and Dr Mohinder Singh, and EMC superspecialty hospital’s owner Dr Pawan Arora, and Dr Pankaj Soni.

As per the FIR, the vigilance bureau has also found in its preliminary investigation the connivance of some health department officials and doctors into the alleged scam, which was being run by the private lab, situated opposite Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and Hospital.

The senior superintendent of police (SSP-vigilance), Amritsar, had got three complaints against the private lab and the hospital on June 20. After this, a team of vigilance sleuths conducted raids on the lab and the hospital seizing Covid-19 testing records and other documents. Besides, the teams also sealed the testing machine of the lab till further orders.

The FIR further reads that the health department had also conducted retesting of four persons who were tested positive by the lab, on June 4, and all the four persons were tested negative. The FIR, which is registered by inspector Kuldeep Singh, reads the vigilance, in its prima facie, has found that a scam was being run by the lab and the hospital with connivance with some government doctors.

The lab owner and its staff have been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act in Amritsar.

The hospital owner and the doctor were booked under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC.