Enforcement Directorate takes over probe against Medanta, Naresh Trehan

New Delhi: Four days after the Haryana Police registered an FIR against Medanta Medcity Hospital and its chairman and promoter Dr Naresh Trehan and others, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday took over the probe into the money laundering charges against them, sources said.

An ED source confirmed the development to IANS and said that the agency will summon a number of persons for questioning in the case in the coming days. The Haryana Police on Saturday lodged an FIR against Trehan, his organisation Global Health Pvt Ltd, and 14 others, including Haryana government officials, for alleged corruption in the case. The police action followed orders by a Gurugram civil court.

A Public Interest litigation was filed by RTI activist Raman Sharma in the court of Additional District and Session Judge Ashwani Kumar, who directed the Gurugram Police on Saturday to register the FIR within 24 hours.

The case was registered against Trehan and his 52 partners, including Sunil Sachdeva, Atul Punj, Anant Jain, Global Health Pvt Ltd, Global Infracom Pvt Ltd, and Punj Lloyd.

Sharma had filed a complaint in June 2019 with the Enforcement Directorate which forwarded it to the Haryana Police for investigation. "Gurugram Police has not acted on the complaint forwarded by the ED. Hence, I went to court for intervention," Sharma had said.

Sharma had complained that the Medanta hospital had launched a project to develop a medical college, research centre, nursing staff quarters, guesthouses for patients' attendants and many other facilities but its promoter had developed only the hospital. Moreover, he allegedly misused funds of other projects in other states.

"I have urged the court for registering the FIR against 52 persons and companies. These are involved in the construction of the hospital and taken grant of Rs 1,000 crore. Besides, chief administrator of the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), its Gurugram administrator, and estate officer too have been asked to submit their reports before the court," Sharma had said on Saturday.