1.2 lakh bribe for Covid bed; Will be withheld and sold under false names
BENGALURU: Three more arrests have been made as to the police probe into the Covid bed sale racket controversy at private hospitals continues. Earlier in the day, four people, including two doctors, were arrested. They are part of a racket involving the BBMP warroom and hospital staff who are buying millions of beds in private hospitals and selling them on the black market. The fraudulent method is to sell the beds under false names and then sell them. The group is targeting Kovid victims who are running out of oxygen beds in the city.
The Karnataka Lokayukta voluntarily registered a case in the incident. Chief Secretary P Ravikumar, BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, and 31 other officials were issued notices. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) under the Bangalore Police on Wednesday arrested four people, including Rihan and Shashi, the main links in the racket.
Venkatasubba Rao (32), Manjunath (31), and BBMP health worker Puneet (31) were also arrested in connection with the case. This was following a complaint lodged with the Sadasivanagar police. The complaint was lodged following the death of Lakshmi devamma within hours of her admission to the hospital. Her son Lakshimisha lodged a complaint with the Sadasivanagar police alleging that he had transferred RS 50,000 through Google Pay and RS 70,000 directly to get the covid bed for his mother lakshimi devamma.
