Uttarakhand: SIT issues notice to three firms in fake COVID testing case during Kumbh Mela
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Police have set up the SIT to probe allegations that fake COVID tests were conducted during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela.
FollowDehradun: The SIT probing the fake Covid testing during Haridwar Kumbh Mela issues notices to the firms named in the case for questioning. The SIT has given them four days to appear.
According to reports, the SIT notices have been issued to firms - Max Corporate Services of Delhi, Nalwa Laboratories Pvt Ltd of Haryana and Dr Lalchandani Labs.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Police have set up the SIT to probe allegations that fake COVID tests were conducted during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela.
For the last two days, SIT CMO Dr S N Jha has been recording the statements of Kumbh Mela CMO Dr Arjun Singh Sengar.
Earlier, Haridwar District Magistrate on Thursday said investigations should be done to find out if the private laboratories engaged by the state government to conduct tests during the Kumbh had been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) before their empanelment.
“The whole matter will also be probed by CO rank level officer. There seems to be a flaw also in the process of empanelling the labs. It should have been probed if they were approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) before their empanelment. But this was not done. This is a matter of investigation,” the DM C Ravi Shankar said.
“The matter was being investigated on the district administration level and on Dehradun level as well. In the district-level probe, many inconsistencies have been found in the COVID test reports during Mahakumbh. In this connection, a case has been lodged against Max corporate agency and two private labs,” he added.
One of the world's largest religious gatherings, the Kumbh was held in the state from April 1 to 30, and the notified area for the congregation covered various places in Haridwar, Dehradun and Tehri districts.
Uttarakhand government registered a case against two private labs and Max Corporate Limited agency in this connection. The state health department lodged an FIR at Nagar Kotwali police station against Max corporate agency, Lalchandani Labs, and Nalwa Lab in Nagar Kotwali, according to Senior Superintendent of Police in Haridwar Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj.
Max Corporate Service and the two other labs have been booked under the Epidemic Act, the Disaster Management Act besides sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
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