Hospital bed scam: Searches at Bengaluru corporation COVID war rooms
Bengaluru, May 6: Searches were carried out by police at the city corporation's COVID war rooms and data collected, in the backdrop of allegations of a scam in booking hospital beds for COVID-19 patients.
The development comes two days after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya alleged that hospitals here 'blocked' beds in fake names to make money, at a time when COVID-19 cases were rising in Karnataka.
Surya said officials of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike 'colluded' with private nursing homes and hospitals to block beds and reserve it for exorbitant fees.
"Searches were conducted on Wednesday at eight zonal war rooms of the BBMP.
Lots of data has been collected," the city police said in a statement.
Eight teams were scrutinising all the data collected from the zones. Further action will be taken based on information taken out of the data, they said.
Police are also investigating the hospitals where four people were arrested for allegedly blocking beds in fake names for COVID-19 patients paying bribes.
So far seven people have been arrested in connection with the bed scam.
The Karnataka government has ordered reservation of 80 per cent of beds for COVID patients in private hospitals, in the wake of increase in cases.
With the spurt in coronavirus cases, the demand for hospital beds with ICU and ventilators have gone up.
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Hormuz Strait disruptions have caused huge economic impact, energy instability in region: Navy chief
Mumbai (PTI): The Strait of Hormuz disruptions have caused severe economic impact and energy instability in the region, Indian Navy chief Admiral D K Tripathi said on Thursday amid the war in West Asia.
Speaking at an event where INS Sunayna, an offshore patrol vessel, set sail from Mumbai as Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar, the admiral said competition at sea has no longer remained confined to oil and energy.
It is now expanding towards resources that will shape future growth - such as rare earth elements, critical minerals, new fishing grounds and even data, he said.
The West Asia crisis began on February 28 after a joint attack by the US and Israel on Iran.
Iran's strikes on its neighbours along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world's energy supplies with effects far beyond West Asia.
"With the conflict in West Asia well into its fifth week, the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have caused severe economic impact and energy instability in the region," Tripathi said.
There is significant increase in the marine survey, deep-sea research activity, and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU), often encroaching upon the sovereign rights of littoral nations and exploiting gaps in monitoring and enforcement, he said.
Alongside these, threats such as piracy, armed robbery and narco-trafficking backed by unimpeded access of advanced technology to non-state actors, have also become more complex and challenging to counter, the Navy chief pointed out.
Last year alone, the Indian Ocean Region witnessed a staggering 3,700 maritime incidents of varying nature, the admiral said.
Additionally, narcotics seizures in the region exceeded USD 1 billion USD in 2025, highlighting the persistence and spread of such challenges in the region, he said.
