More skeletons tumble out of CMRF cupboard

Hyderabad: RMPs and a few private hospitals from the city and districts have allegedly claimed the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund money by submitting fake bills. The police have booked cases against the hospitals, according to officials.

Some private hospitals had submitted wrong bills to claim money under the CMRF. This had come to light when hospitals in the city and also in Ranga Reddy district submitted documents to the CMRF office claiming to have treated patients. On police verification, the documents were found to be fake.

Sources said the police were taking up scrutiny of the applications received for claiming CMRF assistance; in case of suspicion, they were enquiring with the concerned hospitals to check authenticity. The police had recently booked several cases against some individuals and hospitals for this crime. It is said that with the help of private persons, the hospitals created fake bills for treatment they had not provided to patients.

The Telangana Crime Investigation Department (CID) had recently arrested two persons who were allegedly involved in the CMRF scam. The arrested persons were: Gotti Giri (46), a RMP at Chanikya Hospital, Doctors Colony, Miryalaguda, and Aleki Reddy Saidi Reddy (40), a supervisor at Naveena Multi Speciality Hospital, Miryalaguda.

The CID had registered six cases against hospitals across the State in connection with the scam. During the investigation in a case, it was revealed that two suspects were involved in the fraud in the Nalgonda area. The police said the applications submitted by them contained fake CMRF bills using fraudulent documents.

They also fabricated rubber stamps of doctors and hospitals and charged Rs 4,000 per application. They had submitted 19 applications under the names of two hospitals, including Amma Hospital, Nalgonda, and Naveena Multi Speciality Hospital, Miryalaguda, the CID officials said. Some city hospitals named in FIR include Sri Krishna Hospital, Saidabad; Aruna Sree Multi Speciality Hospital; IS Sadan X Road; Janani Hospital, Saidabad; and MMV Indira Multi Speciality Hospital, Kothapet.

The CMRF is intended to extend a helping hand to the poor who are in distress due to such reasons as health problems that require expensive medication, loss of life of kin, loss of properties, and loss of sources of livelihood due to unforeseen incidents, such as natural calamities and road/fire accidents.

Officials said the investigation into these cases will continue to identify other accused involved in the scam. The CID had booked cases against 26 private hospitals for illegally claiming CMRF funds. Cases were registered in Karimnagar, Mahabubabad, and Nalgonda districts.