ED Raids Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA RS Bali and Associate of CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Fake Ayushman Bharat ID Case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at 19 locations, including the premises of Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA RS Bali and a close associate of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. The raids are linked to the generation of fake Ayushman Bharat ID cards and violations of the scheme by several hospitals.
Locations Raided
Places in Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh were targeted. The agency conducted searches in five districts of Himachal Pradesh: Kangra, Una, Shimla, Mandi, and Kullu.
Key Figures
The premises of RS Bali, Congress MLA from Nagrota and chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, and Rajesh Sharma of Shree Balaji Hospital in Kangra, a close associate of the Chief Minister, were raided as their names figured in the fraud.
Scheme Violations
The case involves the generation of fake Ayushman Bharat AB-PMJAY cards. Several hospitals, including Bankey Bihari Hospital and Fortis Hospital, have violated the scheme, generating many medical bills on fake cards, causing significant losses to the exchequer and the public.
Doubts Revealed
ED -: ED stands for Enforcement Directorate. It is a government agency in India that investigates financial crimes and money laundering.
Himachal Pradesh -: Himachal Pradesh is a state in northern India, known for its beautiful mountains and hill stations.
Congress MLA -: MLA stands for Member of Legislative Assembly. A Congress MLA is a person elected to the state assembly from the Congress party, which is one of the major political parties in India.
RS Bali -: RS Bali is a politician from Himachal Pradesh and a member of the Congress party.
CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu -: CM stands for Chief Minister. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is the current Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, which means he is the head of the state government.
Ayushman Bharat -: Ayushman Bharat is a health insurance scheme by the Indian government to provide free medical treatment to poor and vulnerable families.
Fake Ayushman Bharat ID -: A fake Ayushman Bharat ID is a false identification card made to illegally benefit from the Ayushman Bharat health scheme.
Exchequer -: Exchequer refers to the government’s treasury or funds. Losses to the exchequer mean the government lost money due to fraud or corruption.
