Probe needed to see if labs were ICMR-approved before empanellment, says Haridwar DM on Kumbh COVID test scam
June 17, 2021
Haridwar (Uttarakhand) : In the backdrop of an alleged ‘Covid testing scam’ surfacing in Uttrakhand during the recent Kumbh Mela, Haridwar District Magistrate on Thursday said investigations should be done to find out if the private laboratories engaged by the state government to conduct tests during the Kumbh Mela had been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) before their empanelment.
“The whole matter (COVID-19 testing scam during Mahakumbh) will also be probed by CO rank level officer. There seems to be a flaw also in the process of empanelling the labs. It should have been probed if they were approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) before their empanellment. But this was not done. This is a matter of investigation,” the DM C Ravi Shankar said.
“The matter was being investigated on the district administration level and on Dehradun level as well. In the district-level probe, many inconsistencies have been found in the COVID test reports during Mahakumbh. In this connection, a case has been lodged against Max corporate agency and two private labs,” he added. ANI