CBI Investigates ONGC Fraud Involving Bogus Medical Bills
CBI Takes Action Against ONGC Officials
Jorhat, June 19: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a case against a former deputy general manager of medical services at ONGC in Jorhat, Assam, along with nine other individuals, in connection with a fraudulent scheme involving bogus medical bills amounting to Rs 45 lakh, officials reported on Wednesday.
Bijoy Kumar Shaw, the accused ex-DGM, along with Eashitva Tamuly, the former contractual medical officer, and the owners of eight affiliated private medical establishments, have been named in the FIR, which was filed following a complaint from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
The investigation suggests that this group colluded between 2019 and 2022, a period significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to misappropriate funds by creating false medical documentation, according to officials.
According to the CBI's statement, the proprietors of the eight medical shops submitted fraudulent bills totaling Rs 45 lakh based on counterfeit requisition slips for medications, all without the knowledge of ONGC beneficiaries and their dependents.
Searches conducted at the residences of the accused resulted in the discovery of incriminating documents, the agency noted.
The FIR, filed by the ONGC Vigilance Department, claims that from 2019 to 2022, the implicated medical shops provided medicines to ONGC and CISF personnel based on slips generated by the Medical Section of ONGC in Jorhat, where Shaw was stationed.
These slips were allegedly produced without any valid requisition or authorization from the supposed recipients, as stated in the FIR.
During an internal vigilance inquiry by ONGC, high-value medicine credit slips and requisition documents related to 106 medical beneficiaries were examined.
Beneficiaries were contacted to verify the legitimacy of the documents and confirm whether they had received the medicines.
Of the 63 individuals who replied, 29—comprising 27 retired and 2 active personnel—firmly denied ever requesting or receiving the medicines listed and rejected the signatures attributed to them or their dependents, according to the FIR.
The amount associated with these 29 cases was estimated to be around Rs 5 lakh, as per the FIR.
With initial evidence of fraud, the inquiry was broadened to include 1,042 bills, of which 905 beneficiaries responded, and 340 individuals outright denied having initiated any requisition or received the medicines in question. They also contested the authenticity of the signatures linked to their names, the statement indicated.
Following the discovery of systemic fraud, ONGC referred the case to the CBI for further investigation.