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Journalism of Courage
The Lucknow Police on Tuesday arrested former Chief Medical Officer A K Shukla more than three months after a case was registered against him and his deputy Y S Sachan in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the Health and Family Welfare Department.
The irregularities surfaced after the murder of former CMO B P Singh.
Shukla was arrested from the trauma centre of CSM Medical University,where he was admitted on Monday night. Chief Medical Superintendent S N Shankhwar said Shukla is suffering from piles. He was discharged on Tuesday after treatment.
Later,the police produced him in court which sent him in judicial custody for 14 days.
Assistant Prosecuting Officer W Hassan said Shukla’s lawyer moved three applications in the court of Special ACJM Intakhab Alam. In the first application,the lawyer requested bail,which was rejected.
In the second application,it was claimed that Shukla was suffering from hypertension,high blood sugar and bleeding due to a gastro problem. The lawyer requested that Shukla should be admitted to a government hospital. The court directed the jail authorities to provide medical facilities to Shukla according to the jail manual.
In the third application,it was argued that Shukla would not be safe inside jail and cited the example of Dy CMO YS Sachan’s death. “On this,the court directed the jail authorities to provide him security inside jail and also keep him under closed- circuit TV watch round the clock”,said APO Hassan.
The FIR against Shukla and Sachan was lodged at Wazirganj police station by Rajendra Singh,Joint Director (Administration) in the Department of Family Welfare,on April 7,2011.
While the other accused were arrested,Shukla,a relative of a top law officer in the government,was not even questioned.
In spite of several opportunities,the police failed to explain the lack of progress in the investigation before the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Intakhab Alam.
Last week,the investigating officer had told the court that Shukla could not be traced. However,the police never initiated any move to attach his properties or declare him an absconder,which is normally done in such circumstances.
Dr B P Singh was shot dead by bikers while he was taking a morning walk near his Gomti Nagar residence on April 2. Within days,the government found financial irregularities in the National Rural Health Mission,leading to the resignation of Health Minister Anant Kumar Mishra and Family Welfare Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha on moral grounds.
Two cases were lodged by Rajendra Singh in the Wazirganj police station,one against Y S Sachan,administrative officer C S Yadav and senior clerk PC Verma on April 5,and the other against Shukla and Sachan on April 7.
According to the FIRs,several irregularities were found in the Health Department under various heads,including use of vehicles for the NRHM and fake bills.
Both cases were registered under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant),419 (cheating),420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property),467 (forgery of valuable security,will,etc),468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the IPC.
On June 22,Sachan was found dead in suspicious cricumstances in Lucknow jail. Last week,the police filed a chargesheet against five persons in connection with the murder of B P Singh.
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