Jaipur, Aug 22 (IANS) The Anti‑Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a supplementary chargesheet of around 5,000 pages before ACB Court‑1 in connection with the alleged 2016 National Health Mission (NHM) tender scam.
The chargesheet names five accused, including then NHM Director and IAS officer Neeraj K. Pawan.
Soon after the chargesheet was filed, Sunil Rathore, an accused who had been absconding for a long time, surrendered before the court. ACB Special Public Prosecutor B.S. Chauhan said further investigation against another accused, Surendra Singh, is still underway.
The case concerns alleged irregularities in the Aarogya Rath initiative, launched to publicise Health Department schemes.
According to the investigation, the health chariots shown as operating in 2016 existed largely on paper, with alleged fraudulent documentation used to obtain payments.
The alleged scam is estimated to involve more than Rs 1 crore.
At the time, Neeraj K. Pawan was serving as NHM Director. The court granted sanction for his prosecution in 2021. The ACB had conducted raids at 18 locations in May 2016, including the residences and offices of senior officials.
The accused named in the case included Neeraj K. Pawan, accountant Joji Varghese, Assistant Accounts Officer Deepa Gupta, and alleged middlemen Ajit Soni and Sunil Rathore.
The investigation alleges that the main contract for the Aarogya Rath project was awarded to Surendra Singh’s firm, Surendra Electrotech. Investigators allege that payments were obtained using forged documents and that a 17 per cent commission was collected from contractor firms.
According to the allegations, this included 5 per cent as a bribe to secure the tender and 12 per cent to get bills cleared.
The ACB’s supplementary chargesheet is now before the court, while investigation into the role of Surendra Singh continues.
–IANS
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