Panchkula: Court orders registration of FIR against company

Amit Bathla

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, December 17

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate here has ordered the registration of an FIR against the United Health Group Information Services Pvt Ltd (also known as Optum Global Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd) and its officials under sections 406, 407, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC at hte Sector 5 police station for alleged irregularities in the process of a tender floated by Haryana State Health Resource Centre (HSHRC) for implementation of Hospital Information System.

The CJM, Nitin Raj, also directed the Panchkula DCP to depute an investigating officer not below the rank of ACP because the matter required a serious investigation.

After hearing arguments in the case, the court observed, “Keeping in view the fact that the matter involves huge loss to the state exchequer and exhibits misuse of traces of the state machinery for meeting ulterior motives to accord favours to specific persons/company, therefore, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Panchkula, is directed to depute an investigating officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police.”

The Haryana Government in 2013 had floated a tender of Rs106 crore through the HSHRC for the implementation of Hospital Information System.

Advocates Sameer Sachdev and Bhanu Kathpalia, counsel for the complainant Sharad Kothari, a former employee of the company, said, “On the basis of fake and forged documents and in collusion with the various officials of the Health Department, the company got the tender. In 2017, our client brought this fact to the various departments concerned but nobody paid heed.”

Kothari subsequently filed a criminal complaint u/s 156(3) to the CJM, Panchkula.

“Going through every fact and record given by the Health Department, the court has ordered the registration of an FIR against the company and its officials,” the complainant’s advocates added.