What is NRHM?
The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was a scheme launched by the Congress-led UPA-1 government on 12 April 2005 to provide quality healthcare services. Health care More than Rs 8,000 crore was given to the rural population, especially the vulnerable groups in rural areas, by the Uttar Pradesh government, which was then led by Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP). In 2007, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), also led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, gave Rs 8,000 crore to the Uttar Pradesh government. mayavathiIn the assembly elections, SP was thrown out of power and it came to power.
scam
Central Bureau of Investigation Investigation The CBI, which is probing the case on the orders of the high court, has alleged large-scale irregularities in the implementation of various schemes under the mission. It is alleged that more than Rs 5,000 crore disbursed to 72 chief medical officers (CMOs) of the state through the NRHM was embezzled. The CAG report said that between April 2005 and March 2011, the State Health Mission, which was responsible for implementing the NRHM schemes, “did not discharge its responsibilities adequately, resulting in Rs 5,754 crore remaining unaccounted for”.
Murders that shocked everyone
Two sensational murders brought the scandal into the limelight. On October 27, 2010, Lucknow CMO Dr Vinod Arya was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants in broad daylight in the city. Six months later, on April 2, 2011, another CMO, Dr BP Singh, was killed in a similar fashion in the city. Police later arrested Deputy CMO Dr YS Sachan in connection with Singh’s murder. But on June 22, 2011, Sachan was found dead in Lucknow jail under mysterious circumstances. This reportedly led to public outrage. Corruption In the case of corruption in NRHM, the then Mayawati government handed over the case to the CBI in July 2011. Meanwhile, a petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court and in November of the same year, the court ordered the CBI to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the scam.
CBI Test
The CBI formed a special team that arrested the then family welfare minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and UP principal secretary (health and family welfare) Pradeep Shukla. It raided over 100 places across the state and questioned hundreds of people linked to the scam. Several CMOs and nearly 40 government doctors were detained, questioned, arrested and suspended. As the scope of the investigation widened, owners of 200 firms that supplied medicines, equipment and construction material were also questioned.
According to sources, the CBI has so far registered 74 cases and filed 65 charge sheets. The CBI probe was followed by that of the Enforcement Directorate, which registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and seized properties of several accused, including Kushwaha. The agency recently seized properties worth about Rs 200 crore of the former minister of state.
The unique case of Dr. Sachan
On 4 April 2011, Lucknow Deputy CMO Dr YS Sachan was arrested, who was facing allegations of financial irregularities related to NRHM in UP. His role came to light during the investigation of the murder of two CMOs. Police said that they conspired to eliminate Dr Singh because he had ordered an inquiry against them. Dr Sachan was arrested and lodged in Lucknow District Jail. On 22 June 2011, a day before his scheduled court appearance, Dr Sachan was found dead inside the jail. He had several deep wounds on his body and a belt was tied around his neck, apparently in a suicide attempt.
The state government initially claimed it was suicide, but his family alleged foul play, suspecting he was murdered to prevent him from exposing those who had ‘framed’ him. A judicial inquiry conducted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Lucknow concluded that Dr Sachan’s death was murder based on the autopsy findings and circumstantial evidence.
The Allahabad High Court then ordered the CBI to investigate. In September 2012, the CBI filed a closure report stating Dr Sachan’s death as suicide due to hanging, which was also confirmed by the opinion of AIIMS doctors. Despite protests from Dr Sachan’s wife Malti Sachan and court orders for further investigation, the CBI filed another closure report in August 2017, stating there was no evidence of murder. Malti Sachan filed a complaint in November 2019, including testimony and the autopsy report. The lower court rejected the closure report, but the High Court upheld it in 2023. However, the case is still unsolved.
The shooter was caught through a phone call
The CBI investigation into the murders of Dr Vinod Arya and Dr BP Singh has revealed that a phone call by accused Anand Prakash Tiwari finally caught him. Tiwari was convicted by a CBI court in Lucknow on June 28. The investigation of both the cases, along with other cases of the NRHM scam, was handed over to the CBI on the orders of the High Court. In July 2011, the CBI filed separate FIRs in both the murder cases. The CBI started a fresh investigation, but took the help of the Lucknow police and the Special Task Force (STF) in the entire case.
A senior official associated with the investigation revealed that the slain deputy CMO Dr YS Sachan, with the help of RK Verma, had hired two shooters AP Tiwari and Vinod Sharma to eliminate the two CMOs Arya and Singh, as they had started investigation into the NRHM scam. Police say that after eliminating the two CMOs, Tiwari had called RK Verma and said ‘job done’.
Later during call detail record analysis it was proved that the location of shooter Tiwari was the same as the crime scene. Forensic evidence also revealed that the weapon recovered from Tiwari was used in the murder of the two CMOs.
