The Himachal Pradesh government constituted a four-member committee on June 2 to probe alleged irregularities in purchase of ventilators. The committee has been asked to submit its report within 10 days.

This probe is in relation to the purchase of 10 ventilators, out of which seven ventilators were received at a different price. They were bought at the cost of Rs 10.29 lakh each. Apart from this probe, the Himachal Pradesh state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (SV & ACB) are already probing a health scam, which involves the now suspended director health services, Ajay Kumar Gupta.

According to a National Herald report, it all began in early May with the sanitiser scam in the secretariat where fake price tags were allegedly put on the bottles that were procured. An audio clip followed in which the Director of Health Services AK Gupta was allegedly heard seeking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh

On May 27, BJP chief Rajeev Bindal resigned from his post, saying he was doing so to ensure a proper investigation into the case of alleged corruption by the director. In a resignation letter sent to BJP president J.P. Nadda, Bindal said he was tendering his resignation on “high moral grounds” as some people were “dragging the party’s name” in the alleged corruption by the health official. Bindal said that he was tendering his resignation on “high moral grounds” as some people were “dragging the party’s name” in the alleged corruption by the health official.

Both Congress and the CPM have demanded a probe by a sitting High Court judge while conveying that the vigilance department investigations cannot be ‘independent’ in the given circumstances. Meanwhile, the spokesperson stated that the health directorate has prima facie not found any irregularity in the purchase of ventilators, the high-level investigation committee was set up for making the whole process more transparent.

Like our work? Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support

The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism. As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.
We publish in four different languages!
For English, visit www.thewire.in
for Hindi: http://thewirehindi.com/
for Urdu: http://thewireurdu.com
for Marathi: https://marathi.thewire.in
If you are a young writer or a creator, you can submit articles, essays, photos, poetry – anything that’s straight out of your imagination – to LiveWire, The Wire’s portal for the young, by the young. https://livewire.thewire.in/
You can also follow The Wire’s social media platforms and engage with us.
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheWire/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireHindi/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireUrdu/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireMarathi/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/thewire_in
https://twitter.com/thewirehindi
https://twitter.com/TheWireUrdu
https://twitter.com/TheWireMarathi
https://twitter.com/livewire
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thewirein/
https://www.instagram.com/livewirein/
Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to never miss a video from The Wire!