CBI Raids CGHS Office; Top Official, Private Assistant Detained

Meerut: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has raided the residence and office of a top administrator of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) in Meerut UP on Thursday evening.

According to the CBI, a team arrived at a CGHS hospital — located near Suraj Kund in Meerut — and its administrative offices, around 5 pm on Thursday evening. The team interrogated Natasha Verma, who is posted at the facility as the Additional Director, for nearly 19 hours.

Later, the team departed for Ghaziabad with Natasha Verma and her Private Assistant. Natasha was allegedly demanding kickbacks to facilitate a private hospital's affiliation with the CGHS.

According to Additional Director General of Police, Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar, a racket involving extortion within the CGHS office has been busted. According to officials, the CBI has also recovered some bribe money.

On a tip-off, the CBI laid a trap to catch the accused. During the trap proceedings, both the accused — the Private Assistant and the Additional Director — agreed to accept the bribe amount of Rs 50,000 from the complainant. Subsequently, the Private Assistant was caught red-handed while accepting the cash on behalf of Additional Director, the agency said.

According to a CBI spokesperson, the federal probe agency immediately registered a case on April 30 against both, for facilitating the transfer of a CGHS staff from the Moradabad office to Meerut.

Additional Director General of Police (Meerut Zone), Bhanu Bhaskar said that several aggrieved parties had approached the CBI directly with their complaints, following which a trap was laid. Based on concrete evidence and a preliminary investigation, the CBI has taken Natasha Verma into custody.

Earlier Arrests

In another case last week, CBI apprehended the Manager of Central Warehousing Corporation in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, while allegedly accepting undue advantage of Rs 1,00,000 from the complainant. “The CBI registered a case against the accused manager, on allegations that he demanded an undue advantage of Rs 1,00,000 from the complainant, in exchange for allowing the complainant to continue the awarded work," a spokesperson said.

Last year on August 12, the CBI had conducted a raid at the same place, taking into custody the then Additional Director Ajay Kumar and office superintendent Lavesh Solanki. Cases were subsequently registered against both persons under the Prevention of Corruption Act. At the time, the then Additional Director faced allegations of demanding huge bribes.

Also Read:

1. CBI Arrests Health Scheme Officials Over Rs 50 Lakh Bribe In Ghaziabad
2. CGHS Empanelment Of 19 Delhi-NCR Hospitals Suspended For Indulging In Fraudulent Practices