28 private hospitals in Telangana under CID probe for CMRF fraud

HYDERABAD: The state CID has registered cases against 28 private hospitals across Telangana and begun investigating allegations of creation of fake bills to syphon off lakhs from the Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF).

The CID registered six cases against hospitals located in Hyderabad, Khammam, Nalgonda, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Hanamkonda and Mahabubabad districts on Friday.

CMRF provides monetary assistance to those who cannot pay for expensive medicare or have lost their kith and kin. The CID is probing whether some employees of these private hospitals colluded with private individuals to create fake documents and make wrongful gain from the CMRF.

The scam, which reportedly took place many months ago, came to light after DSN Murthy, a section officer of the CMRF Revenue department in the Secretariat, filed a complaint with the police.

Alleging that the accused created fake bills, the complaint said: “After preparation of the bills, the same were submitted to the Chief Minister’s Office for the sanction of CMRF”.

According to the available details, of the 28 hospitals suspected to be involved in the scam, 10 are based in Khammam, 10 in Hyderabad, three in Nalgonda, two in Mahabubabad and one hospital each in Hanamkonda, Karimnagar and Peddapalli.