Four arrested for duping ESIC of Rs 2 crore

HYDERABAD: The Task Force police has arrested a gang of four persons including an employee, who were involved in duping the Employees' State Insurance Corporation of Rs 2 crore, by submitting fake bills for supplying medicines. On credible information, Task Force sleuths apprehended four persons who were submitting fake bills in the name of fictitious drug companies to claim money for supplying medicines to the ESI Hospital. The accused are Gaddam Vishal Chaintanya alias Venu, office assistant in ESI office at Adarshnagar and resident of Secretariat Colony at Manikonda in Puppalaguda, Syed Waheed, resident of Kohinoor Enclave in Narsingi of Rangareddy district, Dantu Srinivas Reddy alias Vasu, a real estate broker and resident of OU Colony in Shaikpet and Sapada Laxman, resident of Indiranagar. Police said another accused Gaddam Vishal Kumar is still absconding. "The accused did not supply drugs but they submitted bills and money to the tune of `2 crore was withdrawn from banks from January to May last year," city police commissioner AK Khan said on Wednesday.
The commissioner of police said the main accused Vishal Chaitanya alias Venu was appointed on compassionate grounds after the death of his father, an ESI inspector. While taking care of verifying and passing drugs and dressing bills submitted by the director of Insurance Medical Services, Venu decided to earn easy money by preparing fake bills in the name of fictitious pharma companies. "Venu then took the help of Srinivas Reddy and registered two fictitious drug companies by the name of United Medical Pharma Services and Ajay Pharma Medical Services. Waheed used to prepare fake bills of ESI Hospital for supply of medicines from the fake companies. The accused then submitted the bills to state medical commissioner for release of cheques,'' he added. Having obtained the cheques, the accused withdrew around `1.98 crore from bank accounts. Police seized fake bills, ID cards, passports, book containing forged signatures of the IMS director, blank cheque books of Deccan Grameena Bank and three mobile phones. The arrested persons were handed over to CCS police for further action.