Rs 47.52 lakh Aarogyasri funds diversion under police probe at Srikalahasti hospital

A suspected diversion of around Rs 47.52 lakh from NTR Vaidya Seva (Aarogyasri) funds and doctors’ incentives at the government hospital in Srikalahasti has come under police investigation, with several cheques allegedly altered to withdraw amounts far higher than those originally issued.

In one instance, a cheque issued for Rs 2,000 was allegedly altered to withdraw Rs 5.02 lakh from the Aarogyasri account. Another Rs 2,000 cheque was allegedly changed to Rs 5.32 lakh.

Records examined during the investigation showed that a cheque for Rs 2,700 was allegedly altered to Rs 92,700 on April 24, 2025. Similarly, a cheque for Rs 32,800 was allegedly changed to Rs 3.28 lakh on February 5, 2026.

The irregularities reportedly came to light during an internal audit conducted on August 29. Hospital officials initially tried to address the issue internally instead of immediately approaching the police, sources said.

Around 15 days later, a meeting was reportedly held at the residence of a public representative to discuss the alleged financial irregularities.

Junior assistant G Lakshmi Prasanna and postmortem assistant Chandra, who were allegedly linked to the transactions, were called for the meeting. Sources said Rs 22.50 lakh was recovered from them during the process.

However, efforts to recover the remaining amount reportedly did not succeed after the two employees refused to take responsibility for the balance.

Following this, hospital superintendent Y Murali Krishna approached the police and lodged a complaint, based on which a case was registered on September 15.

According to the preliminary investigation, Lakshmi Prasanna was handling the Aarogyasri cash books and bank cheques besides processing incentive payments to doctors and other staff. Police suspect that she allegedly diverted the funds in association with Chandra.

Investigators found that the amounts mentioned on some cheques had allegedly been changed before the instruments were presented for withdrawal.

The signatures of the medical superintendent were also allegedly forged on some of the cheques, police sources said.

The investigation further indicated that the withdrawn money was allegedly transferred to the bank accounts of relatives and associates of the accused employees.

Police have so far identified 11 people, including relatives and associates of the two employees, whose roles are being examined in connection with the alleged diversion. Investigators are scrutinising the bank transactions and other financial records to establish the flow of funds and determine the involvement of each person named in the case.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pradeep Vennelakanti

[email protected]