The medical records of some in patients presented for seeking help from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) do not match those available at the hospitals concerned.
This finding by the Crime Investigation Department officials probing the alleged fraud in CMRF confirms that fabricated documents were used to claim money under CMRF. However, it would take a few more days for the investigators to ascertain how big the scam was and precisely how many persons misused the fund meant for the hapless, investigators, pleading anonymity, revealed.
Of the 9,300 applications, money was paid in over 7,000 cases. To ensure that the genuine persons were not deprived of monetary help, the CID officials are first verifying the nearly 1,250 applications pending clearance.
Investigations indicated that some of them had presented fabricated medical bills. Of the 1,200 applications scrutinised so far, 1,000 applications pertained to treatment given by hospitals – a majority of them corporate -- from the city. The remaining 200 are from other districts. CID officials are not jumping to any conclusions about the possible complicity of some employees of corporate hospitals in the fraud. “Though blank bills can be obtained somehow, filling up details like diseases, charges for treatment, diagnosis and other medical terms is not possible for a layman,” pointed out a CID official associated with the investigation of the case.
Complicity in scam
Persons working in the hospitals, ex-employees or those familiar with hospital administration and billing process could have been directly or indirectly connected to the scam, suspect CID authorities. It is surmised that there was little possibility of persons, who underwent treatment at the hospitals by securing letter of credit from the CMRF, resorting to malpractices.
