Bhubaneswar: Within the campus of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar on Friday the police arrested twelve brokers for allegedly collecting money from patients on the plea of helping them.
The Khandagiri Police acting on a tip-off carried out an operation at the AIIMS posing as patients and caught the brokers red-handed while they were brokering and selling the ticket for Rs.5000 each.
Even as free medical services are provided at the premier institute, the accused persons were selling the tickets in black to the patients visiting AIIMS for treatment for Rs.4000 to Rs.5000.
The number of arrests may rise further as efforts are on to trace others involved in the racket, a senior police officer told media.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused brokers are residents of Khandagiri area in the state capital.
The Odisha Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) Department had issued instructions for strict monitoring and a necessary crackdown on brokers, who indulge in diverting patients from Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) of different government hospitals to private healthcare facilities on October 28.
The Health and Family Welfare Department had stated that the station-in-charge of the local police station should be informed about the matter for the detention of such elements and initiate appropriate legal action against them.
