Covid testing scam: ED raids multiple labs for fake testing during Kumbh Mela
New Delhi, Aug 6: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted multiple raids in connection with a money laundering probe into fake Covid testing during the recently-held Kumbh mela in Uttarakhand's Haridwar.
Searches were conducted at the offices of Novus Path Labs, DNA Labs, Max Corporate Services, Dr Lal Chandani Labs Pvt Ltd and Nalwa Laboratories Pvt Ltd and also at the residential premises of their directors in Dehradun, Haridwar, Delhi, Noida and Hisar, the agency said in a statement.
The ED said it has seized "incriminating documents, bogus bills, laptops, mobile phones and property documents and Rs 30.9 lakh cash" during the raids that were ongoing.
The agency recently registered a criminal case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the accused companies and their directors after studying Uttarakhand Police FIRs against them.
This was followed by the raids.
These labs were given the contract by the Uttarakhand government for conducting rapid antigen and RT-PCR tests for coronavirus during the Kumbh Mela, the ED said.
These labs hardly carried out any COVID-19 test and made "fake entries" for the testing and raised "bogus" bills in order to earn illegal financial gains, it said.
"An amount of Rs 3.4 crore has already been received by them from Uttarakhand government as part payment," the ED said.
The agency said its investigation found that the "modus operandi used by these labs was that they used single mobile number or a false mobile number, single address or same specimen referral form (SRF) for multiple persons for showing the inflated numbers of coronavirus testing without actually doing the testing".
"Testing was claimed to be done in the name of the persons who never visited the Kumbh mela in Haridwar," it claimed.
Due to false negative testing by these labs, positivity rate of Haridwar at that time was shown at 0.18 per cent against the actual 5.3 per cent, the ED said.
One of the world's largest religious gatherings, the Kumbh was held in the state from April 1 to 30, and the notified area for the congregation covered various places in Haridwar, Dehradun, and Tehri districts.
ED has conducted searches at the office and residential premises of Novus Path Labs, DNA Labs, Max Corporate Services, Dr. Lal Chandani Labs ; and Nalwa Labs at Dehradun, Haridwar, Delhi, Noida and Hisar in connection with fake Covid testing scam during Kumbh Mela at Haridwa.
— ED (@dir_ed) August 6, 2021
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
