Uttarakhand COVID-19 testing scam probe in final stage, report to be out soon: Haridwar DM

The special investigation team formed to probe allegations of fake COVID-19 tests conducted during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela, Uttarakhand and is investigating the role of officers connected to the Mela administration. An additional charge under IPC Sec 467 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) has also been added in the FIR. This comes after the reports that the SIT is also probing Haridwar chief medical officer (CMO) Dr SK Jha's role under whose watch the tests were conducted. The Kumbh was held in the state from April 1 to 30, and more than 1 lakh Coronavirus test reports submitted were fake.

Haridwar COVID-19 testing scam

During the Haridwar Kumbh Mela, the Uttarakhand government had authorised 11 private companies to carry out RT-PCR tests of people attending the fair. This was done in order to detect COVID-19 cases and prevent the viral infection from spreading in the Kumbh Mela area. Among these 11 companies was one named Max Corporate Services, which in turn hired Nalwa Labs and Dr Lalchandani Labs to conduct RT-PCR tests. Nearly 1 lakh carried out by these labs are under the scanner. Investigation so far has revealed that these 1 lakh RT-PCR tests were merely on papers and no test was carried out on the ground. As a result, the lives and well-being of lakhs of people who attended the Kumbh Mela were jeopardised. As per the instructions of Haridwar District Magistrate (DM) C Ravishankar, the labs conducting RT-PCR tests were supposed to mandatorily record details of each person whose samples were being collected. However, despite this, the private labs flouted norms and resorted to illegal means to showcase an inflated number of tests conducted by them. 

Uttarakhand's response to the Mela scam

The Haridwar Kumbh RT-PCR test scam came to light when one Vipin Mittal, a resident of Faridkot (in Punjab), wrote to the Uttarakhand health secretary stating that even though he did not attend the Kumbh Mela, an RT-PCR report from Haridwar was delivered to him. Following this, the health secretary ordered the Haridwar DM to investigate this matter. The DM formed a committee to investigate this, and it was during this investigation that the story of the 1 lakh fake RT-PCR tests came to light. Teams investigating the RT-PCR test scam that surfaced during the 2021 Haridwar Kumbh Mela have started calling up all mobile phone numbers that were registered against the nearly 1 lakh RT-PCR tests that are alleged to be fake.

By calling each number, the investigating teams are trying to ascertain if the person using the number even attended the Kumbh Mela in the first place, besides collecting other shreds of evidence related to this scam. The Uttarakhand government has constituted an eight-member team that is dialling these numbers one by one and verifying them. Sources say the team has collected several shreds of evidence pertaining to the scam, but more calls are being made and the probe is on. The probe ordered by the district administration is being led by Haridwar Chief Development Officer Saurabh Gaharwar, while the probe by the Kumbh Mela administration is being led by a senior health officer who is heading a five-member team.