Unraveling a GPF (General Provident Fund) scam of at least Rs 1.5 crore in the Primary Health Centre at Muzaffarpur, the Nawanshahr district police here arrested one senior medical officer, a pharmacist-cum-accountant, who was the kingpin of the scam, and a multi-purpose health worker, while two former medical officers of the centre are on the run after a sessions court rejected their bails.
While the amount of the fraud through GPF withdrawal in the names of 62 employees on the basis of forged papers has already been discovered, it has also come to light that salaries in the names of 3 to 4 extra employees were being withdrawn and its exact magnitude is yet to be determined.
SSP Rakesh Aggarwal revealed that apart from recovering hard cash of Rs 6 lakh from the house and bank locker of Karampal Goel, a resident of Ludhiana, the police had also recovered registered sale deeds of 15 plots owned by Goel or his family in Ludhiana and NSC/Kisan Vikas Patras worth Rs 3.60 lakh from him. The police have also discovered that Goel got a seat for his son in a private medical college in Bathinda in MBBS by paying ‘donation’ of Rs 22 lakh in NRI quota. The market price of various properties owned by him is estimated at some crores. A Zen car has also been recovered.
The police have also written to the managers of various banks in Ludhiana and Nawanshahr to seal Goel’s accounts where Rs 9.5 lakh have been found deposited.
Revealing the modus operandi, the SSP said that Goel would prepare papers of withdrawal of GPF in the names of various employees while the latter would not be aware. This could not have happened without the active connivance of his higher-ups, he said.
Aggarwal said that 62 GPF withdrawals were managed by Goel and his accomplices. It was his attempt to withdraw Rs 2.65 lakh and Rs 2.445 lakh respectively in the names of sanitary inspector Darshan Singh and staff nurse Bhupinder Kaur, which led to his nailing. He had joined this PHC in 2003 and shaped a perpetual fraud since then.
The police have also named former SMOs Dr Jugraj Singh (now retired), Dr Hardev Singh and Dr Krishan Lal, who remained posted at the PHC from 2002 along with multi-purpose health worker Salinder Singh. While Dr Kirshan Lal, Goel and Salinder have been arrested, two other SMOs are still on the run. Salinder could not get bail even from the HC, following which he surrendered in court.