COIMBATORE: A contract worker at the ESI hospital was arrested on Tuesday on charges of extorting money from Covid-19 patients. According to Singanallur police, B Balaji of Uppilipalayam was recruited in the cooking section of the hospital eight months ago as contract worker. He allegedly started collecting Rs 3000 per day from relatives of Covid patients, claiming to provide them special care.
The incident came to light on Monday when one of the patients complained to the hospital administration and the Resident Medical Officer lodged a police complaint. Balaji was detained for inquiry. "After collecting money from the relatives, Balaji avoided their phone calls or threatened them for dire consequences if they complained to hospital management," Rajkumar, Inspector of Police, Singanallur, told The New Indian Express. He was arrested and booked under several sections of the IPC.
On Monday, the hospital management, with the help of police evicted 17 people who were allegedly posing as attenders after collecting money from relatives of patients. Two police personnel were deployed on the hospital premises to prevent entry of such persons.