CUTTACK: Mangalabag police on Friday arrested two persons for cheating poor patients visiting SCB Medical College and Hospital for ECG tests. The arrests came during a crackdown on brokers indulging in diverting patients from SCB to different private clinics, nursing homes and pathological units. The arrested are Bishnu Prasad Naik (34) of Medical Sweeper Colony and Bikash Kumar Parida (27) of Malihata under Jagatpur police station.
While outdoor tickets of patients, push cards of different private clinics and diagnostic centres were recovered from Bishnu, an ECG machine and its equipment besides push cards were seized from the possession of Bikash. Police also seized mobile phones and `2,400 cash from the two. DCP Akhilesvar Singh said, police nabbed them red-handed while convincing patients to visit private clinics.
During investigation, the two arrested confessed to diverting patients to private clinics on the pretext of proving better treatment by reputed doctors. In return, they were earning commission. The accused also used to earn huge profits by conducting ECG test illegally on SCB MCH premises. While the ECG test is conducted free of cost in government hospitals, the accused duo used to charge `300 per patient, Singh informed.