HYDERABAD: The pre-dawn arrest of former minister K Atchannaidu in Andhra Pradesh on Friday has its moorings in Hyderabad.
When the Telangana ACB officials busted a Rs 500-crore scam in the Insurance Medical Services (IMS) department, it unwittingly opened a can of worms in the neighbouring State, galvanising the officials to get to the bottom of it.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in Hyderabad are in the process of framing charges against the staff of the IMS department and outsiders whom they had arrested for siphoning money from the purchase orders placed with the pharma companies.
The arrested persons included former IMS director Ch Devika Rani, her husband P Gurumurthy, who is a retired civil surgeon, and others.
The Telangana ACB officials, during the course of investigation, arrested several pharma company owners, staff and distributors of medicines. They however, could not get proper leads suggesting the involvement of any politician in Telangana.
Though there was speculation that some politicians apparently forced the authorities to place orders with the companies of their choice, the ACB could not get evidence against any one.
During an audit in 2019, the government noticed that some irregularities had taken place in purchasing the medicine indents to be supplied to ESIs in the State by collecting medicine from private persons.
Without delivering the indents, the private persons submitted fake bills and obtained huge amounts by diverting the funds.
ACB probe was ordered by Telangana government
Following the irregularities in the IMS department, the Telangana government sought a report from the Vigilance Department officials. Based on the Enforcement and Vigilance department officials’ report, the government directed the ACB to register cases and investigate into the issue.
In 2019, the ACB officials inquired into the irregularities and registered cases against 17 persons, including some mediapersons, for their alleged role in the case. They also conducted searches in 20 premises across the State. In the preliminary probe, the ACB arrested 17 employees of the IMS department, including Devika Rani.
The sources said the ACB officials completed 90 per cent of the investigation in connection with the case and filed charge sheets in the court. The ACB found that `500 crore was diverted to private firms illegally for purchasing medicines and related goods, for which the IMS officers received kickbacks.
IMS scam: A Timeline
July 22, 2019: ACB officials begin probe, find that medicines are bought at higher prices in violation of procurement procedures, tender process
Sept 25, 2019: ACB officials register cases against suspected persons in Telangana
Sept 27, 2019: They arrest former IMS director Devika Rani, assistant director Padma, assistant director K Vasantha Indira, Shamshabad ESI dispensary pharmacist M Radhika, senior assistant V Harshavardhan, Omni Medi managing director K Srihari Babu, company representative Ch Siva Nagaraju
Oct 7, 2019: Life Care Drugs managing director B Sudhakar Reddy and others arrested for providing fake indent bills. 30 people held in the scam