CUTTACK: The state government’s flagship healthcare scheme Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana is fast slipping into the grip of widespread fraud. A few months after five persons including the owner of a private hospital here were arrested for allegedly embezzling BSKY funds of beneficiaries, the police on Friday arrested another private hospital owner and manager for fraud relating to the scheme.
The new scam involves patients being treated in non-empanelled healthcare facilities but shown to be admitted to an empanelled one. The accused are Ashok Kumar Pati (55) and Santanu Pati (39), the owner and manager of Sova Nursing Home at Paga respectively. The case came to light when a complaint of death due to medical negligence was filed against another private hospital JM Care Hospital at Nayabazaar in the city.
Briefing mediapersons, additional DCP Anil Mishra said one Prasanna Kumar Patra of Badagada BDA Colony in Bhubaneswar had filed a complaint with Madhupatna police alleging his wife Kuni died due to medical negligence at JM Care Hospital on March 7. During the investigation, it was ascertained that the complainant’s wife was operated upon at JM Care Hospital for the removal of a kidney stone on February 21, 2023. The surgery was performed by Dr Amiya Kumar Paul at the request of Dr Chinmay Kumar Sahoo.
While Kuni complained of pain again on March 6, 2023, as per Dr Sahoo’s advice, the complainant admitted her to JM Care Hospital. However, neither Dr Sahoo nor any other doctor attended to her as a result of which she died.
In course of the investigation, it was found JM Care Hospital is not empanelled under BSKY. Dr Sahoo reportedly collected the BSKY card of the deceased and she was shown admitted to Sova Nursing Home at Paga on February 22, 2023, and operated on the same day.
“It was also shown that Dr Paul had operated upon the deceased at Sova Nursing Home on February 22. It is evident during the investigation that the signature of Dr Paul was forged by the owner and manager of Sova Nursing Home, Dr Sahoo and one Bharati Swain. They had hatched a criminal conspiracy and committed forgery by admitting the deceased at the two hospitals,” said Mishra.
While the further investigation in the case is on, efforts are on to initiate legal action against the other accused involved in the case, Mishra informed.