Dhanbad Hospital Owner Duped of Rs 15 Lakh in Fake Empanelment Scam

Dhanbad: A private hospital owner in Dhanbad has lodged a complaint alleging that he was cheated of nearly Rs 15 lakh by a man who promised to arrange approvals and empanelment with various govt and private agencies.

Dr Mihir Kumar lodged a written complaint with Dhanbad police station against Deepankar Nath, a resident of Manoram Nagar, alleging that the accused duped him by providing forged certificates and documents related to hospital empanelment and regulatory approvals.

According to the complaint, Nath was introduced to Kumar by Suraj Anand and Amit Mandal, both reportedly associated with the hospital. During their meetings, Nath claimed that he had expertise in facilitating hospital tie-ups and certifications from various organisations and agencies. Trusting his assurances, the hospital management handed over the responsibility to him.

The accused allegedly promised to secure empanelment and approvals from institutions such as railways, BCCL, DGMS and other agencies. In return, he reportedly collected around Rs 15 lakh from the hospital management in different phases.

After some time, Deepankar allegedly handed over several empanelment and certification documents to the hospital authorities. He also claimed to have arranged a pre-conception and pre-nanal diagnostic techniques (PCPNDT) certificate for the hospital. Believing the documents to be genuine, the hospital management reportedly submitted them to concerned agencies and companies.

The fraud surfaced when Kumar was summoned to the Dhanbad civil surgeon’s office, where officials informed him that the PCPNDT certificate was fake. “All the certificates were found fake after inquiry,” said Kumar.

Dhanbad police station officer in-charge Manoj Pandey said that the case is being investigated. Civil surgeon Dr Alok Vishwakarma has also formed a committee to investigate the fake PCPNDT certificate.