Family not involved in hospital ops: Bali

Dharamshala, August 2
Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA R S Bali, whose premises were recently raided by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged Ayushman Bharat fraud, said Friday he cut short his holiday to help the investigation.
“Cheating patients is a serious matter. If a hospital is found guilty of fraud, it is crucial to investigate and take strict action. This matter is not politically motivated,” he said at a press conference here.
Bali stressed that his family is not involved in the operations of the Fortis Hospital in Kangra that was searched as well by the federal agency. He added that his family only owns the building leased to Fortis to operate the hospital.
The MLA, who was on a holiday with his family when the raids were conducted, said, “I returned home to fulfil my moral duty and cooperate with the investigation. All information was provided to the ED officials, all transactions are done via bank cheques, and no other significant recoveries were made by the investigating agencies.”
He said the raids conducted by the ED as part of its money laundering investigation into the alleged Ayushman Bharat scheme fraud were part of a broader probe.
Around 19 locations in Shimla, Kangra, Una, Mandi and Kullu districts, apart from those in Delhi, Chandigarh and Punjab were searched.
The money laundering case filed on July 16 stems from a January 2023 FIR registered by the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau against one Kiran Soni, Una-based Shri Bankey Bihari Hospital and others for allegedly generating “fake” AB-PMJAY cards. The ED has alleged that many medical bills were generated on such “fake” cards, causing a loss to the exchequer and the public with the total “proceeds of crime” in this case estimated to be around Rs 25 crore.