Instrument purchase scam: homes of four DDU doctors raided

Under the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB),the Union government sends free lenses to this hospital through the Blindness Control Society. However,the hospital management went ahead and bought these lenses from the market at inflated prices,it has been alleged.

“We found incriminating evidence at the residence of the accused persons. The matter has been registered and documents are under scrutiny,” said a senior official in the Anti Corruption Bureau.

According to the complaint,instruments like an intra-ocular posterior chamber lens,which is available in the market for Rs 1,450,was purchased by the hospital’s ophthalmic department for Rs 1,695. The hospital bought 750 pieces,costing the exchequer Rs 12,71,250 extra. Similarly,it is alleged,the hospital paid Rs 4.11 lakh for a slit lamp,which is priced at Rs 2.20 lakh in the open market. Another Rs 2.97 lakh was shelled out for the imaging facilities. An Indian maker would have charged Rs 40,000,he said. Similarly,an imported synaptophore — a device that diagnoses squints — is available in the market for Rs 2.68 lakh. But the hospital paid Rs 4.30 lakh to the supplier,says the FIR. Besides DDU Hospital,the Vigilance department has sought permission to file an FIR against doctors at Lok Nayak Hospital on corruption charges.

The complaint names 27 doctors and suppliers.