Two Doctors Arrested for Taking Bribe in Punjab's Ludhiana

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested two doctors, including a senior medical officer, on charges of taking a bribe from a chemist in Ludhiana.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested two doctors, including a senior medical officer, on charges of taking a bribe from a chemist. Dr Poonam Goel, SMO, Sahnewal and Dr Gaurav Jain, a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) doctor, both posted in the Community Health Centre (CHC) Sahnewal, district Ludhiana were arrested while taking a bribe of Rs 15,000, a spokesperson of the bureau said in a statement.

Modus Operandi

The doctors have been arrested on a complaint lodged by a resident of Guru Arjun Dev Nagar, Sahnewal. The complainant had visited the bureau’s range office in Ludhiana and recorded his statement alleging that the accused were demanding a bribe from him. He told the bureau that he runs a chemist shop at Sahnewal. Jain and two others came to his shop for checking on October 26 and told his brother present that there was a complaint against the complainant for allegedly selling medicines without a licence and running an illegal pathological laboratory.

Before leaving his shop Jain told the complainants brother that the latter should meet SMO Goel. The complainant further told the bureau that when he met Goel she allegedly threatened to seal his chemist shop and get a case registered against him. She told him to meet Jain to settle the matter. Thereafter, Jain told the complainant that the SMO was demanding Rs 1 lakh as a bribe but the deal was struck at Rs 20,000.

Evidence

The complainant informed the bureau that Jain had already taken Rs 5,000 on the same day and now he was demanding that the remaining amount be paid. During phone calls with Jain the complainant has got a recording of conversations which he submitted to the bureau as evidence, the spokesperson said, as per the official statement.

Arrests

After a preliminary investigation of this complaint, a bureau team laid a trap in which accused Gaurav Jain was arrested red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 15,000 in the presence of two official witnesses. Thereafter Goel was also arrested. In this regard an FIR dated November 3, under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act and 120-B of IPC has been registered at VB police station Ludhiana Range.

Next Steps

Both the accused would be produced before a court at Ludhiana on Saturday for seeking their remand. Further Investigation in this case was under progress, he added.

The arrest of these two doctors is a reminder that corruption is still a major problem in India. It is important for the government to take steps to address this issue, such as increasing transparency and accountability in the public sector.