NRHM scam:Former min Kushwaha arrested by CBI

Former Uttar Pradesh Minister for Family Welfare, Babu Singh Kushwaha, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the National Rural Health Mission scam being probed by the CBI. The CBI also arrested BSP MLA Ram Prasad Jaiswal for his alleged involvement in the case. [caption id=“attachment_232980” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Kushwaha was questioned by the CBI earlier but was not arrested. Firstpost”]  [/caption] Kushwaha and Jaiswal are the first politicians to be arrested in the NRHM scam which relates to alleged swindling of over Rs 10,000 crore central funds allocated to the state under the scheme. So far, CBI has arrested 10 persons, including a retired Director General (Family Welfare) S P Ram, General Manager of a state PSU (Construction and Design Services (Subsidiary of Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam) P K Jain and retired MD of state PSU Shreetron India Ltd G K Batra. The agency called Kushwaha and Jaiswal to its headquarters in New Delhi today for detailed questioning. Both arrived at about 11 in the morning and were grilled for about four hours before being arrested by the agency. Kushwaha, is accused in the case relating to upgradation of 134 district hospitals for an amount of Rs 13.4 crore by Construction and Design Service, a unit of UP Jal Nigam, CBI sources said here. “The investigation has so far disclosed that the said work was given to a Ghaziabad-based private company on the basis of bogus and forged documents and the material installed in the hospitals were found to be of inferior and sub-standard quality,” CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra said here today. The agency has so far registered 12 cases involving alleged irregularities to the tune of Rs 370 crore in the utilisation of NRHM fund. Sources said the work for up-gradation of hospitals was given to M/s Surgiocoin (Ghaziabad-based firm) on the basis of “forged” documents and the material installed in the hospitals were found to be of sub-standard quality. Prima facie, the agency has found offences of criminal misconduct and conspiracy on the part of the then Minister (Family Welfare) Kushwaha, the then Principal Secretary(Family Welfare) Pradeep Shukla and officials at various levels with private contractors and vendors, they said. “Huge cash payments were allegedly made by private supplier to the then Minister and his associates in lieu of these contracts. An approximate loss of Rs 5.46 crore was found to have been caused to government exchequer in the said case,” Mishra said. She said investigation carried out so far has indicated that tenders were allegedly awarded in a pre-determined manner to favour certain private firms, at exorbitant rates, in gross violation of established tender procedures, thereby causing a loss to government exchequer. “The investigation has also revealed that select private firms were awarded a large number of contracts,” she said. Kushwaha and Jaiswal were produced before a special CBI court in Ghaziabad which has sent them to CBI remand for 10 days, CBI sources said. Firstpost had reported how Kushwaha had reportedly sent the suggestion of creating additional posts to Mayawati’s office and the Chief Minister had approved it. Kushwaha’s ministry had also allegedly routed major NRHM projects through state-owned public sector units which in turn were allotted to individuals on a pre-decided basis. The CBI has only investigated cases worth Rs 320 crore so far and the Central government had given the Uttar Pradesh government over Rs 9,000 crore under the NRHM scheme. The CBI had called Kushwaha for questioning earlier but had not arrested him. The minister who was dumped from the UP cabinet by Mayawati had attempted to join the BJP but after a furore the party had put his membership on hold and denied him a ticket in the UP polls. Two senior doctors were killed, one CMO found dead under mysterious circumstances in a Lucknow jail and an accountant with the health department was found smothered to death after the CBI began investigations in the case. with inputs from PTI