New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) The CBI has registered an FIR in an alleged procurement scam wherein insecticide-treated mosquito nets, priced at Rs 49 to Rs 52 per piece, were reportedly procured and sold to the CMSS under the Union health ministry at inflated rates of Rs 228 to Rs 237 per piece by a public sector undertaking, officials said on Monday.
The PSU — Hindustan Insecticides Ltd (HIL) — secured a Rs 29 crore contract from the Central Medical Services Society (CMSS) in 2021-22 for the supply of more than 11 lakh Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) for malaria control over public procurement platform, Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
It was the sole bidder despite lacking its own manufacturing capacity, quoting rates of Rs 228-Rs 237 per unit.
HIL went on to subcontract the work to empanelled vendors, providing raw materials and chemicals while vendors undertook production and insecticide treatment.
Bypassing the lowest bidder, Shobikaa Impex, the officials at HIL initiated a procurement chain that ultimately channelled the order through Mohinder Kaur Knitting Pvt Ltd, a company with no manufacturing capacity of its own, the FIR alleged.
According to the FIR, the actual production was executed by VKA Polymers, which sold nets to JP Polymers — a closely linked firm — at Rs 49 to Rs 52 per unit. By the time the product reached HIL via this chain of intermediaries, the price had ballooned to Rs 87 to Rs 90 per unit.
HIL, in turn, supplied the nets to CMSS at Rs 228 to Rs 237 per piece, raising suspicions of price manipulation and kickbacks.
VKA Polymers and JP Polymers are interlinked entities managed by family members — Anand Samiappan and M. Sakthivel, respectively– the FIR alleged. It added that Balvinder Singh Tandon, Director of Mohinder Kaur Knitting, coordinated the execution of HIL’s purchase orders through his company.
The inflated pricing funnelled through multiple companies allegedly caused a loss of Rs 6.63 crore to CMSS, while HIL and its intermediaries profited from the markup.
In its FIR, the agency has named Mohinder Kaur Knitting Pvt. Ltd, its Director, Balvinder Singh Tandon, VKA Polymers Pvt. Ltd and its Director, Anand Samiappan, JP Polymers & Nets and its partner M. Sakthivel, besides unidentified officials of HIL India Ltd and the Central Medical Services Society.
The CBI has invoked sections of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, against them. PTI ABS RHL
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