The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided the homes, offices of several diagnostic firms of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in connection with Fake Covid testing scam conducted during the Maha Kumbh in Haridwar.
The probe agency searched the homes and offices of the top executives of some diagnostic firms including Knows Path Labs, DNA Labs, Max Corporate Services, Dr Lal Chandani Lab Pvt Ltd, Nalwa Laboratory Pvt Ltd for alleged fake Covid testing scam.
After seizing incriminating documents, bogus bills, laptops, mobile phones and property documents, the ED is claiming that the agency has got many important evidences during the search.
The probe agency conducted in Delhi, Haridwar, Dehradun, Noida and Hisar on Friday after a case was filed by the Uttarakhand Police.
It is alleged that these labs did not carry out the required number of Covid tests of Kumbh devotees but made fake entries for Covid testing. These labs were given a contract by Uttarakhand government for conducting rapid antigen test and RT-PCR test during the Kumbh Mela.
Explaining the frauds, the ED said fraudulent labs used a single mobile number, address and form for several people and inflated the number of Covid testing without actually testing anyone. The names of those who have not even visited the Kumbh Mela were also mentioned in the record of Covid testing, the probe agency said.
On April 22, 2021 Vipan Mittal — an LIC agent in Punjab’s Faridkot — was surprised to receive an SMS on his cellphone with a link to his Covid test report. However, he had not given any swabs for testing.
Further investigation into the case revealed that Mittal wasn’t alone and about a lakh of fake Covid reports were produced under a massive scam. Following which, he filed an online complaint with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Read Also: Covid-19 vaccine: India approves Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen for emergency use
When millions of Hindu devotee gathered in Uttarakhand to participate in the Kumbh Mela festival even as India battled a devastating Covid second wave, many doctors and experts were feared that it would turn out to be a super-spreader event.
In othee India News, The Union Health Ministry on Saturday announced that Johnson and Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine Janssen has been approved for emergency use in India.