IMS director, six others in the dock over drug scam

Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on Friday arrested seven persons including the Director of Insurance Medical Services (IMS) Ch Devika Rani, Joint Director K Padma (IMS Warangal), Assistant Director Dr K Vasantha Indira (Store, IMS Hyderabad), Senior Assistant RFDD Section V Harshavardhan, Pharmacist M Radhika, Omni Medi Managing Director K Srihari Babu and Representative of Omni Medi Ch Shiva Nagaraju in a multi-crore-scam in supply of medicines to dispensaries and hospitals under the Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme.

After conducting simultaneous searches in the offices and residences at 23 places in Hyderabad and Warangal, the officials took Devika Rani into custody from her residence in Shaikpet and later shifted her to ACB office in Banjara Hills for questioning.

Later, they produced them before the ACB court after completion of the medical tests to them in Osmania General Hospital. The ACB court remanded them to 14 days custody till October 11 and shifted them to Cherlapally and Chanchalguda Jails.

The ACB officials in their 44-page remand report stated that the scam has started from the Cherlapally dispensary. They have enquired 15 witnesses till now and efforts are on to nab the other four Pharma Company managements soon, under whose residences the ACB personnel earlier conducted searches and seized several key documents pertaining to the scam.

The officials said that Rs 11 crore scam was unearthed in connection to the purchasing of 14 medicines and said that a detailed investigation was needed to unearth the total scam which was worth multi crores.

Director Ch Devika Rani and others by colluding with pharma companies allegedly caused losses to the government exchequer by purchasing medicines, surgical kits through special medical drug dispensing units which were unauthorised firms instead of rate contract firms during the year 2017-18.

They are facing charges of making false indents, falsifying records and violating rules in the purchase of medicines.

Earlier, the State government's Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) Wing had conducted an enquiry into the allegations that no proper eligibility criteria was followed by the IMS Director in the selection of firms and submitted its report in March this year.

Allegations against Naini Narsimha Reddy's son-in-law:

­The complainant in the multi-crore medicine purchasing scam under ESI scheme on Friday made allegations against Ramnagar TRS Corporator V Srinivas Reddy, who is son-in-law of former Home Minister Naini Narsimha Reddy.

However, speaking on the allegations against him, Srinivas Reddy denied them and challenged the complainant and others to show evidences on his involvement in the scam.

Srinivas Reddy said as Employees' Union leader he always concentrated and worked for the wellbeing of them.

He said he will proceed legally against the complainant for making false allegations against him.