The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has executed searches at 20 locations across Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh in connection with an alleged case of creating fake Ayushman Bharat AB-PMJAY ID cards and violations of the scheme by several hospitals.
These operations were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. In Himachal Pradesh, searches were conducted in the districts of Kangra, Una, Shimla, Mandi, and Kullu. According to an ED press release, the searches targeted Shree Banke Bihari Hospital, Fortis Hospital Himachal Healthcare Private Ltd, City Super Specialty Hospital, Shri Balaji Hospital, Shri Harihar Hospital, Sood Nursing Home, Neelkanth Hospital, and key management personnel including Dr. Vijender Minhas, Raghubir Singh Bali, Dr. Pradeep Makkar, Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Manish Bhatia, Dr. Manoj Sood, and Dr. Hemant Kumar.
The ED launched the investigation based on an FIR registered by the State Vigilance & Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV & ACB), Una, under various sections of the IPC, 1860, against Kiran Soni, Shree Banke Bihari Hospital, Una, and others for generating fake AB-PMJAY ID cards.
The ED investigation revealed that, in addition to Shree Banke Bihari Hospital, Shri Balaji Hospital, Sood Nursing Home, Fortis Hospital, and Sri Harihar Hospital had also exploited the AB-PMJAY scheme. During the investigation, 373 fake Ayushman Cards were identified, with claims amounting to approximately Rs 40.68 lakh being made for reimbursements from the government for treatments supposedly given to these Ayushman Card beneficiaries, according to the ED release.
The list of fake beneficiaries included Rajnish Kumar (ABPMJAY Card No. PPKZU26H7) and Pooja Dhiman (ABPMJAY Card No. PICHWGI08), who, upon verification, denied any knowledge or possession of such PMJAY Cards. The ED stated, “They never underwent any such treatment in any of these hospitals. Additionally, hospitals have made claims for treatments/surgeries/admissions that were never actually provided to the patients.”
Further investigation revealed cases like Raksha Devi (PMJAY ID- PLOE81RR2Q), who was denied admission, but the hospital fraudulently blocked her package. These hospitals were subsequently de-empanelled from the Ayushman Bharat scheme for illegal practices and non-compliance with guidelines. To date, 8,937 Ayushman Bharat golden cards have been scrapped in Himachal Pradesh for alleged violations of the AB-PMJAY scheme. The investigation has uncovered proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs 25 crore.
According to the press release, ED searches uncovered cash totalling approximately Rs 88 lakh, four bank lockers, and 140 related bank accounts. Additionally, the searches led to the seizure of immovable and movable properties, books of accounts, and 16 digital devices including mobile phones, iPads, hard disks, and pen drives containing information related to claims and documents concerning AB-PMJAY, Himcare, and other health schemes.
The seized documents revealed suspicious transactions worth Rs 21 crore for 23,000 patients. The searches also uncovered severe mismatches between the claims submitted to the government and the actual data available in hospital records. It was observed that several files regarding claims in patients’ names had gone missing.
