Tout takes Rs 1.5k, claims Covid-19 report in 15 mins

Noida: A tout selling cigarettes outside the District Hospital allegedly took Rs 1,500 from the relatives of a man who was in dire need to get a Covid test done, claiming he would get them the report in 15 minutes.
Suresh Chand Pathak (60) had on Monday gone to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital after he suffered injuries in his leg following an accident. He was asked to get himself tested for Covid before treatment could start.
His son Vipin, an auto-rickshaw driver, said his father was injured on Monday when the auto he was travelling in met with an accident. The Sector 37 resident alleged that the auto driver was drunk.
“I took him to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where the doctor told us to get a Covid test done before they could start treatment. So, on Wednesday, I took my father to the District Hospital in Noida. I first met the guard and asked him where I could get my father tested for Covid. Suddenly, a vendor, who runs a shop selling cigarettes and eatables outside the hospital, came up to us and told me he could get the test done in 15 minutes if I paid him Rs 1,500,” Vipin told TOI.
Vipin said the man took the money from him and went away. Soon after, two persons dressed in white and wearing masks came from inside the hospital and collected his father’s samples as he sat in the auto.
“They, too, said the report would come within 15 minutes. We kept waiting outside the hospital when I met another man who had come to get a Covid test done for his wife. When he came outside after the test, I asked him how much he had to pay. I was shocked when he told me that they just asked for a one-rupee coin for registration,” he said.
The man told Vipin that the test is conducted for free in government hospitals. “I was alarmed to hear that. I ran up to the man and confronted him. However, he fled, throwing the money on the ground,” he said.
After Vipin went inside the hospital, he was allegedly told by a doctor in the emergency ward that he would get the report soon.
“The staff at the hospital told me they would hand over the Covid report soon. However, I kept waiting for the report till 5pm but no one could tell me anything. Later, a worker said I will have to come again on Thursday and get my father tested,” said Vipin, alleging corruption at the District Hospital.
The chief medical officer (CMO), Dr Nepal Singh, said that he would order an inquiry into the allegations of corruption.
“I have not been informed about the incident. If this has indeed happened, the allegation will be probed. I will speak to the District Hospital’s chief medical superintendent about the issue,” he added.