HYDERABAD: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Food Safety department and Drug Control department conducted simultaneous searches at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad on Thursday to investigate alleged irregularities linked to a corruption case against the hospital’s suspended Additional Medical Superintendent, Lakshmi Bhaskar.
ACB officials, led by DSP (CIU) Laxmikanth Reddy, examined records in the hospital’s administrative section to verify allegations of bribes being collected from medical stores and the hospital canteen. The searches were reportedly based on evidence and documents seized during earlier raids.
The Food Safety department collected food samples from the canteen and inspected its operations, including records relating to contract allocation and the quality and hygiene of food served to patients.
Drug inspectors examined the surgical store, stock registers and inventory to check for possible diversion of medicines and surgical materials or discrepancies between recorded and actual stocks. The department also examined relevant documents and seized records for further verification.
The searches follow the ACB’s disproportionate assets case against Bhaskar. On September 22, the bureau conducted searches at around eight locations, including his residence and the houses of relatives and friends. He was arrested the same day and remanded to judicial custody. The ACB took him into three-day custody two weeks ago.
The initial searches reportedly uncovered assets worth around Rs 6.13 crore, though their estimated market value could exceed Rs 100 crore. On September 29, the ACB searched five residences of suspected benamis and recovered unaccounted cash and documents relating to agricultural land and open plots in Hyderabad.
Further details of Thursday’s searches were awaited at the time of filing this report.