Haridwar, Mar 1 (PTI) A case of fraud has been registered against Novus Path Lab here and its partner doctor Sandhya Sharma in connection with the alleged fake Covid testing scam during Kumbh Mela 2021.
A large-scale fraud was committed by the lab in the RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen tests done during the Kumbh Fair in total violation of the norms set by the Indian Council of Medical Research, Superintendent of Police (City) Swatantra Kumar said.
An examination of the ICMR data of the said laboratory revealed that most of the entries made by it on the council portal regarding the tests were fake, he said.
The lab operators indulged in a criminal conspiracy and earned unfair profits by cheating, he said.
The government suffered huge revenue loss due to the fake test reports and fake entries in bills and records, the official said.
Novus Path Lab received the wrong payment of Rs 2,41,20,486.
A case has been registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467, 468 (forgery), and 471 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code against the lab operator and Sharma.
Uttarakhand Health Department had handed over the testing work to three private test labs including Max Corporate Service, Nalwa Laboratory, Hisar and Lalchandani Path Lab, who gave the testing work to the local Novus Path Lab.
The matter came to light when thousands of Covid tests were shown on a single phone number. PTI COR ALM RHL
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