The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city crime branch arrested a Mantralaya clerk allegedly involved in the fake medical bill scam.
The accused has been identified as Irfan Manzoor Usmani, 51, a resident of Government Colony in Bandra (E).
For a price, Usmani would get bogus medical bills for other government servants for reimbursement from the department. Three more clerks and a crime branch constable were attempting to seek a total refund of Rs 11.05 lakh. Currently, they are under suspension.
According to the police, Santosh Palande, junior clerk, furnished medical bills of Rs 1.99 lakh of his wife. Senior clerk Anand Dalvi had furnished bills of Rs 2.99 lakh of his father and Shankar Jadhav, junior clerk, had submitted bills worth Rs 4.06 lakh of his mother. Crime branch constable Rajesh Pawar had furnished medical bills of Rs 1.99 lakh of his wife. All four also submitted documents about the treatment in government hospitals to the office of additional commissioner of police, crime, on April 17, 2013 seeking a refund.
During verifications, the additional commissioner learned that the patients were treated in out patient department for six to eight months. However, in all four bills, medicines mentioned were extremely expensive and the signatures were similar. Suspecting the bills to be bogus, he ordered an inquiry which verified his surmise.
A case of cheating and forgery was registered against Palande, Dalvi, Jadhav and Pawar with the Azad Maidan police station, last year.
During the investigation, statements of Palande, Dalvi, Jadhav and Pawar were recorded. The four told the police that the fake bills were provided by another clerk Irfan Usmani in exchange for money.
Jadhav told the police that in 2012, he had submitted bogus bills of his wife Vrushali, worth Rs 6.55 lakh to the department. He had paid Rs 40,000 to Usmani then, half of which were paid after the bills were cleared. "Jadhav further told us that in order to clear medical bills of his mother Lata, he had paid Rs 15,000 to Usmani. While Palande paid Rs 50,000, Pawar and Dalvi also gave cash to Usmani," said an EOW officer, requesting anonymity.
"On Friday, during questioning, Usmani was asked how he procured the rubber stamps, medical shops' bills and documents of OPD of different hospitals. However, he did not cooperate and was placed under arrest on Saturday," the officer said.
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