Balangir: A private hospital in Chhattisgarh has allegedly looted lakhs of rupees from a group of patients of Odisha’s Balangir district and that too without providing them proper treatment.
As alleged by locals, a woman dalal reportedly took at least 10 patients from the Patnagarh area of Balangir district to a private hospital in Raipur of Chhattisgarh assuring them to provide better treatment at the hospital free of cost as they have the Biju Swastya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) cards.
After reaching Raipur, they were admitted at the hospital as per the doctors’ advice and underwent some minor health check-ups and tests. They were discharged from the hospital eight days after some minimum medication and were brought back to their villages in an ambulance.
However, the patients alleged that they were not given proper treatment at the hospital as there is no improvement in their health condition. But, money was looted from their BSKY cards. They were also allegedly not given proper information about their treatment, however, received messages of thousands of rupees spent on their treatment. While some got the messages about the deduction of money from their BSKY cards, other allegedly did not get the same.
After reaching the village, they reportedly informed the local youths about the fraud, who in return detained the woman dalal and ambulance for interrogation. As neither they gave the bills of the patients’ treatment, nor were able to give any satisfactory clarification, the youths intimated about the matter to the Patnagarh police.
Calling the treatment by the hospital as fraud, one of the patient’s said, “I went there for the treatment of the problem I have in my legs. A very minimum treatment was given to me there. Only five injections and some medicines were given to me after I got admission in the hospital. While I have the same physical problem, more than Rs 62,000 has been deducted from my BSKY card.”
Soon, a team of cops from the Patnagarh police reached the spot and started an investigation into the matter. They have detained both the woman, who had taken the patients to the hospital and driver of the ambulance for questioning.
Meanwhile, the locals demanded action against people who dupe the poor people in the name of treatment and syphon money from the BSKY cards. “We detained the ambulance as there was not treatment bill nor any message of money deduction was received by the card holders. When contacted the hospital authority, they told to go Raipur in person to get the bills,” said a youth.
“Action should be taken against people who are doing this kind of fraud and misutilising the funds of the Odisha government,” he demanded.
Ms Kalinga