Fake Ayushman Bharat ID case: ED raids 19 places, premises of Himachal Congress MLA

New Delhi [India], July 31 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids at 19 locations, including the premises of Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA RS Bali and a close associate of the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in a case linked to the generation of fake Ayushman Bharat ID cards and violations of the scheme against many hospitals, officials said.
Places in Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were raided. The agency is conducting searches in five districts of Himachal Pradesh, including Kangra, Una, Shimla, Mandi, and Kullu.
The agency raided the premises of RS Bali who is Congress MLA from Nagrota, chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and vice chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Board, and Rajesh Sharma of Shree Balaji Hospital in Kangra (a close associate of the present Himachal Pradesh CM), as their names figured in the fraud, said officials.
The raid is part of a case related to the generation of fake Ayushman Bharat AB-PMJAY cards.
In addition to the generation of fake ID cards, the officials said, the scheme has been violated by several hospitals, including Bankey Bihari Hospital and Fortis Hospital.
Many medical bills have been generated on such fake cards, causing losses to the exchequer and the public. (ANI)