2 more arrests made in Telangana's multi-crore medical supplies scam

In the last week of September, the ACB booked cases against 17 government officials after the scam came to light.

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The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) made two more arrests on Sunday in Telangana's "ESI scam." A pharmacist who assisted pharma companies and government officials in the scam was taken into custody. Earlier on Sunday, the managing director of Life Care Drugs and Pharmaceuticals was arrested.

Nagalakshmi, a pharmacist working with the ESI Hospitals, is accused of colluding with Baddam Sudhakar Reddy, the managing direction of Life Care Drugs. Sudhakar is accused of roping in former Insurance Medical Services (IMS) director Dr CH Devika Rani, who allegedly assisted Sudhakar in obtaining a purchase order worth Rs 8.25 crore.

In the last week of September, the ACB booked cases against 17 government officials after the scam came to light. The officials were accused of colluding with pharma companies, preparing fake indents and records to purchase medicines and surgical kits from a select few pharma companies in the name of emergency supplies. While the loss to the exchequer is pegged at Rs 11.69 crore, an ACB official speaking to The Hindu stated that, "The IMA director, along with her other colleagues and four private individuals, including a Telugu news channel journalist, had allegedly diverted Rs 300 crore by procuring drugs from non-rate contract firms in the name of ‘emergency medicines.'"

The ACB took seven persons into custody late last month, including the IMS director Devika, Joint Director K Padma, the Assistant Director Vasantha Indira, Senior Assistant Harshvardhan, a pharmacist Radhika, the managing director of Omni Medi, Srihari and his employee Nagaraju. On October 1, the ACB reportedly took into custody the senior assistant of ESI hospital M Surendernath Babu, making him the eighth arrest.

The ACB had accused Surendernath of forcing the in-charge medical officer of Patancheru to sign a false indent for medicines. Those medicines were however not delivered to the ESI hospital. Surendernath is accused of colluding with K Padma, the joint director of Insurance Medical Services and the pharmacist M Radhika. The investigation into the case is ongoing.