The CBI has opened an inquiry into alleged financial irregularities between 2005 and 2008 at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) in Delhi. Dr Sangeeta Sharma,present Secretary of the Medical Council of India (MCI),is one of the officials under the scanner while the CBI has sought sanction to move against Dr Meena Gupta,former IHBAS Director and present Head of Department of Neurology at G B Pant Hospital. A senior accounts official is also being probed. In a letter to Union Health Secretary K Chandramouli,CBI Joint Director H C Awasthy stated that verification of allegations mentioned in a complaint revealed that huge loss has been caused to the Institute in the installation of MRI facilities,conferencing facilities with audio and visual equipment,on highly exorbitant rates in blatant disregard of rules and directives. Awasthy said there is prima facie material for registration of a case under Section 13(2) and 13(1) (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act,1988 against the officials of IHBAS. Permission has been sought from the Health Secretary to initiate investigations against Dr Gupta as is mandated for officials of and above the rank of Joint Secretary. The allegations of irregularities relate to the removal of a clause for mandatory 20 per cent free MRI for BPL patients by FOCUS MRI,the company that is running the MRI centre at IHBAS under a public-private partnership,and in the tender for the purchase of audio-visual equipment for conference facilities. A self-contained note from the CBI that was passed from the Union Health Secretary to the Delhi Health Secretary stated: It is alleged that Dr Meena Gupta,Dr Sangeeta Sharma,who was the then purchase officer at IHBAS,and a senior accounts officer entered into a criminal conspiracy with the private partner during 2003-2005 with the object of causing undue pecuniary advantage to the said company. The letter stated that whereas the draft agreement approved by the then Delhi Health Minister and president of IHBAS,Dr A K Walia,directed that there be a provision for free MRIs for 20 per cent of the total cases of BPL patients,the agreement executed on May 17,2005 between IHBAS and FOCUS dropped this clause. The final agreement stipulated instead that all patients directly make payments to FOCUS,and for the poor patients of IHBAS and the adjoining Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital expenses are to be borne by respective institute/hospital,instead of FOCUS. This,the CBI said,resulted in a loss of approx Rs 25,61,500 to the government exchequer. In the matter of AV equipment,the CBI note stated that officials again entered into a criminal conspiracy with AV Science and Technologies Pvt Limited sometime during 2007 in awarding the contracts and this cost the exchequer approx. Rs 22,82,670. The CBI note stated that though tenders were opened for an estimated Rs 95 lakh,a purchase of Rs 2.32 crore was made without opening fresh tenders/obtaining fresh approval for extra purchases (144 per cent above the tender amount). Dr Nimesh Desai,IHBAS Director,confirmed that an inquiry was underway. The government constituted an internal audit from 2005-06 to 2008-09. On the basis of this audit,the anti-corruption bureau of the Delhi government wrote to us in May last year,and we submitted a reply. The CBI constituted a separate criminal inquiry in April this year,and we submitted our reply,as requested by the Delhi government,on August 7, he said. When their comments were sought,Dr Gupta and Dr Sharma denied they were involved in these decisions. Dr Sharma said: We were small fry. These decisions were taken at the level of the Principal Secretary of the Delhi government and the Health Secretary. I have not been asked for any formal reply by the government. These allegations are baseless. Dr Gupta said: We have documents to show that the then Principal Secretary took the final decision on the MRI. Since we had only a single bidder,the Secretary directed us to relax the proposal.
