MEA must reply on Nirav Modi's travel spree using revoked passport
New Delhi, June 14: The Congress on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of protecting Nirav Modi in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case and sought a reply from Ministry of External Affairs on the absconding diamantaire's travel spree using a revoked passport.
"Even as the Modi Government has been caught snoozing, Chhota Modi-2 i.e 'Nirav Modi, the absconding accused in India's 'biggest bank loot scam' is on a travel spree using a 'revoked passport' by the Ministry of External Affairs," said former Union Minister Rajeev Shukla.
Dubbing the government a mute spectator, he sought a reply from MEA on how Nirav Modi managed to travel using a revoked passport.
Nirav Modi, his wife, brother and uncle fled the country before the PNB complained against their companies, saying it had been cheated through fraudulent issue of Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs).
The Interpol has written a letter to investigative agencies stating that despite the revocation of his passport, Nirav Modi travelled three countries on four different dates - March 15, March 28, March 30 and March 31, Shukla disclosed.
Shukla said: "On February 24, the MEA revoked the passports of Nirav Modi, promoter of Gitanjali Group, after he failed to respond to a February 16 notice issued by the Ministry, asking them to showcause why their passports should not be impounded or revoked."
"The Interpol says that Nirav Modi travelled using Indian passport, post his 'revocation' - and then how did the Immigration authorities and exit points remain unaware of this.
"Now it is crystal clear that Modi is saving another Modi! Now the question is, whether one Modi is supporting the other," he said.
He pointed that Nirav Modi fled India on January 1, and was then seen in a group photograph with Narendra Modi during World Economic Forum from January 23 to 26.
"The MEA only revoked his passport on February 24. Why did it take 54 days to revoke his passport? Was the Modi Government aiding and abetting the escape of Nirav Modi and facilitating his escape to the farthest point from India's shores," he asked.
"While the prime minister gives ‘fitness lessons' on social Media, it is business as usual, for fraudsters like Nirav Modi."
Shukla also said people are scared to keep their money in banks. "There has been a sharp decline over the last financial year in monthly receipts from small savings schemes, including in public provident funds, according to the latest RBI data," he said.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
