Bengaluru Hospital 'bed scam': BJP MP alleges hospitals blocked beds in fake names to make money
Bengaluru, May 4: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday alleged that hospitals in the city 'blocked' beds in fake names to make money, at a time when COVID-19 cases were rising in the country and Karnataka.
At least 4,065 beds were 'blocked' in fake names by the hospitals to make a killing, the BJP Yuva Morcha president and Bengaluru South BJP MP alleged.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said he will take action 'mercilessly' against the hospitals, their management and government officials and will not spare anyone who is involved in it.
As COVID cases are rising, the Karnataka government has ordered the private hospitals and nursing homes to reserve 80 per cent of beds for coronavirus patients.
However, according to Surya, government officials in Bengaluru colluded with private nursing homes and hospitals to block the beds and reserve it for exorbitant fees.
"When people are struggling to find a bed in the hospital and begging everyone including MPs and MLAs to give them one, there are hospitals who say that no beds are vacant," Surya told reporters.
According to him, those in the BBMP (city corporation) war room in Bengaluru get all the details about those testing positive such as whether they are asymptomatic or symptomatic.
If they are asymptomatic, they will be kept under home isolation but beds will be booked in different hospitals in their names, he alleged.
In one instance, beds were booked in 12 hospitals in the name of one patient, Surya said, adding, these beds are 'sold' to the needy at a much higher price.
"When families after families are getting wiped out for lack of proper treatment, these incidents are not just corruption. This is murder," Surya told reporters.
Taking serious note of the incident, the state government ordered a police investigation. Accordingly, a case has been registered.
Bengaluru city police Commissioner Kamal Pant tweeted on Tuesday that the matter has been handed over to the Central Crime Branch and two people have been arrested and others were being questioned.
"A case has been registered in Jayanagar Police Station for fraud and cheating allegedly committed in allotment of beds on BBMP portal for #COVID patients. Two accused have been arrested and others are being questioned for alleged fraud/irregularity in the allotment of beds in return for money from patients," he tweeted.
Replying to the Commissioner's tweet, the BJP MP wrote: "Thank you for the swift action. I sincerely hope the kingpins, senior officials, are held for their omissions and commissions."
"System won't reform if some small fry elements are held as is mostly done. Have lots of faith in you, Sir."
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Sensex, Nifty join global selloff as Trump tariffs trigger trade war fears
Mumbai, Apr 4 (PTI): Equity benchmarks Sensex on Friday slumped over 900 points to crash below the 76,000 level due to an across-the-board sell-off, tracking weak global markets amid growing global trade war fears.
Besides, a sharp correction in crude prices and a heavy sell-off in market heavyweights Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Infosys added to the gloom, analysts said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 930.67 points or 1.22 per cent to settle at 75,364.69. During the day, it plummeted 1,054.81 points or 1.38 per cent to hit an intraday low of 75,240.55.
The broader NSE Nifty declined 345.65 points or 1.49 per cent to close at 22,904.45. In the session, the 50-share benchmark gauge 382.2 points or 1.64 per cent to 22,867.90.
Tata Steel was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, sliding 8.59 per cent, followed by Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharmaceutical, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and NTPC, were the major laggards.
On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Nestle India, ICICI Bank, ITC, Asian Paints and Axis Bank were among the gainers.
In broader markets, the BSE midcap gauge plunged 3.08 per cent, while smallcap index declined 3.43 per cent.
"Markets slumped in sync with the crash in global equities with sectors crashing over 2-6 per cent on broad-based selling," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
Investors fear Trump's reciprocal tariff policy will fuel recession and drive inflation in the US going ahead and engulf other key economies. A sharp fall in metal and oil stocks is indicating that demand could be hit amid slowdown fears, Tapse added.
In Asian markets, Tokyo and Seoul ended lower. Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets remained closed for the holidays.
European markets were trading lower in the mid-session deals. US markets closed lower in overnight deals on Thursday, witnessing their biggest drop since 2020.
Global oil benchmark Brent Crude slipped 3.26 per cent to USD 67.85 a barrel.
"Crude oil prices plunged after the US President announced heavy reciprocal trade tariffs, triggering fears of slower global demand. A sharp tariff hike on China spooked energy markets, leading to crude oil's biggest single-day fall in three years," Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,806 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 221.47 crore on a net basis.
On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 322.08 points to close at 76,295.36, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 82.25 points to settle at 23,250.10.
