An AIIMS staffer and his sister were arrested for allegedly demanding ₹5 lakh for admission of a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at a hospital here, the police said on Tuesday.
The accused have been identified as Pankaj Kumar, (45) who works at AIIMS hospital in haematology lab and his sister Kavalpreet Kaur alias Mamta (36).
The call detail records of the accused duo were analysed which revealed their location in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. A team conducted raid in Rewara village and arrested them.
The police said that an information was received from the COVID cell of Delhi police headquarters on May 9 about a complainant, Haripal, who alleged that a person named Bhushan Kumar and Sunil Kumar had taken ₹2.8 lakh for admission of his COVID positive wife to Safdarjung Hospital.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered. During investigation, Bhushan and Sunil said that complainant’s brother-in-law Ravinder Pal Singh is known to Bhushan and that Singh had contacted him for arranging an oxygen cylinder for his sister as Bhushan runs a manufacturing unit where welding work is done, according to the police.
“Bhushan arranged an empty oxygen cylinder for Singh on humanitarian ground. On April 30, Singh again contacted Bhushan for getting her sister admitted to some hospital as she was in critical condition. Thereafter, Bhushan contacted his acquaintance Pankaj Kumar for admission,” DCP (Rohini) Pranav Tayal.
Pankaj told Bhushan that admission to any hospital in this pandemic was difficult but admission to any hospital could be managed if some money was sent. He told him that ₹5 lakh was needed for admission to any hospital and sent his sister’s number and said she would manage the admission of patient, the officer said.
Based on his interaction with the accused, Bhushan shared Mamta’s contact number with patient’s son who further contacted her and got his mother admitted in Safdarjung Hospital, police said.
Pankaj and his sister demanded ₹5 lakh for getting the patient admitted in Safdarjung Hospital. After that complainant’s son delivered ₹2.8 lakh to them and after receiving the amount, the accused duo fled away to Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, the officer said.
“During the course of interrogation, it revealed that Pankaj, his brother Santosh and his sister Kruna, all works in AIIMS hospital, Delhi, whereas, his sister Kawalpreet Kaur is a housewife and her husband was jobless for some time. Seeing it as a lucrative opportunity, Kawalpreet insisted her brother to demand ₹5 lakh from the patient’s family,” the DCP said.
