Jharkhand: Health department paid salaries over Rs 1 crore to non-existent doctors in Ramgarh

Mail News Service

Ramgarh, August 29: A major salary fraud has been unearthed in Ramgarh district, where illegal withdrawals amounting to over Rs 1 crore have been made in the past 15-16 months from the account of the District Health Committee under the National Rural Health Mission. The Deputy Commissioner of Ramgarh, Chandan Kumar, disclosed this during a press conference held at the NIC room of the District Collectorate.

According to the Deputy Commissioner, the scam involves salary payments made in the names of five fake doctors—Dr. Rahul Kumar, Dr. Sangeeta Barik, Dr. Veena Kumari, Dr. T. Chakraborty, and Sarita Kumari—none of whom have ever served in the district. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the bank accounts linked to these names are being operated by Amjad Hussain, an orderly working in the district health department, and his wife.

Expressing concern over the potential scale of the scam, the Deputy Commissioner indicated that the total amount embezzled could exceed Rs 10 crore. In response, a high-level committee has been formed under the leadership of Sub-Divisional Officer Ashish Gangwar to conduct a thorough investigation into all payments made by the District Health Committee, including scheme-related disbursements and salaries.

The committee has been tasked with submitting a detailed report to the Deputy Commissioner within a week, enabling appropriate legal action against those involved in the fraudulent activities.