30 Brokers Arrested From Govt Hospitals In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Hours after a directive from the Chief Minister, police arrested as many as 30 brokers from the government hospitals in eight districts for luring and harassing patients.

Four brokers were arrested from Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar during a surprise police check on Wednesday night. The accused were allegedly referring patients to private nursing homes and diagnostic centres in lieu of commission. Police said the brokers used to earn 10 to 20 per cent commission for doing so.

Also on Wednesday night, five brokers were arrested from VSS Medical College and Hospital premises in Burla in Sambalpur. Director General of Police (DGP) BK Sharma informed this in tweet on Thursday.

SP (Sambalpur) Kanwar Vishal Singh said the accused used to persuade patients and their attendants who came from the far-off places in Odisha and outside to go to various private hospitals and nursing homes for better health care services.

The SP said the arrested brokers will be interrogated and then forwarded to court later in the day.

Police also arrested five brokers for allegedly cheating patients at DH Hospital in Balangir, the DGP said in another tweet. The accused were forwarded to court. Investigations were on to identify others involved in such activities, the DGP added.

He said of the 30 brokers, 4 have been arrested from Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar, 5 from VIMSAR in Burla in Sambalpur, 5 from Balangir, 4 from Bhadrak, 3 from Mayurbhanj, 4 from Rourkela, 3 from Balasore and 2 from Nabarangpur.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had directed chief district medical officers (CDMOs) to take action against brokers found luring and harassing patients in government hospitals.