Fateh Kit Purchase ‘Scam’: AAP writes to Punjab Lokpal, seeks probe

In the letter, AAP leader Raghav Chadha accused the Capt Amarinder Singh-led government of “using the disaster as an opportunity” by “embezzling crore of rupees” in the purchase of kits used for the treatment of Covid patients.

The Aam Aadmi Party Tuesday wrote to the Punjab Lokpal seeking probe into the alleged irregularities in the purchase of ‘Fateh’ kits for coronavirus patients by the Congress government. In a letter to the Lokpal, party’s state affairs co-in-charge Raghav Chadha urged it to take immediate cognisance and probe the alleged “massive scam”.

In the letter, Chadha accused the Capt Amarinder Singh-led government of “using the disaster as an opportunity” by “embezzling crore of rupees” in the purchase of kits used for the treatment of Covid patients.

A Fateh kit contains a pulse oximeter, a thermometer, face masks, a steamer, sanitizer, Vitamin C and zinc tablets and some medicines for Covid-19 patients.

“An alleged massive scam has been nefariously executed in the procedure of inviting, acquiring and executing the bids for Covid- 19 medical consumables and essential medical equipment kit…there have been numerous over-priced bids accepted by the government with a view to extract undue monetary gains leading to humungous losses to the state exchequer,” wrote Chadha.

“Under this scam, the price of the medical kits, which was supplied to the people during the pandemic, was consistently raised in a well thought-out manner by repeatedly inviting one tender after another despite the fact the first tender was valid for 180 days,” he alleged.

AAP claimed the first tender was awarded at Rs 837 per kit, but after ordering only few thousand kits from the vendor at a higher price of Rs 940, a new tender was floated and allotted to another vendor at Rs 1,226 per kit, he said.

Chadha alleged that it had also come to light that a firm, which did not have a medical licence, was chosen to deliver the kits to the government. “Shockingly, the government procured 50,000 Fateh kits for Rs 1,226 per kit through the second tender. Another order of 1, 50,000 kits at Rs 1,338.40 per kit was placed to the same vendor, despite it being an expensive choice than the previous one,” alleged Chadha.

The AAP leader said that the price disparity raises grounds for concern and clearly expose the massive corruption underlying within the confines of the government.

“The government is evading its accountability on this and whenever the Health Minister is asked about the alleged scams, he prefers to pass the buck to his seniors. In light of the abject evasion to provide accountability, the role of the office of the Chief Minister of Punjab cannot be ruled out thus warranting a thorough investigation,” wrote Chadha.

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