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NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday denied bail to Rajiv Rangila, the alleged mastermind behind the Rs 842-crore medical procurement scam, observing that he had deleted electronic records, intimidated public officials, and fled the country to evade the ongoing investigation. Special Judge Vidya Prakash of Rouse Avenue Court passed the order after taking serious note of Rangila’s past conduct, his propensity to destroy material evidence, and the extensive financial losses inflicted on the state exchequer. The court remarked that the accused, acting in connivance with co-accused individuals, had allegedly caused a wrongful loss of Rs 842 crore to the government, an act that almost paralyzed the healthcare institutes of the Delhi government and adversely affected public health at large.
Accused deleted WhatsApp chats and fled abroad to evade probe
In its detailed ruling, the special court highlighted that Rangila routinely destroyed potential digital evidence during the course of his dealings. The judge observed that the applicant used to delete communications in the form of WhatsApp messages exchanged between him and other persons, including representatives of manufacturers, which clearly established his tendency to destroy material evidence in the past. The court also emphasized the statements of official witnesses recorded during the investigation, which disclosed that employees were intimidated by the accused persons, including Rangila. Officials were coerced into carrying out their duties strictly according to his dictation and commands, failing which they were bypassed within the administrative hierarchy.
The court further reviewed the accused’s travel history and held that his conduct remained completely mala fide. The records revealed that Rangila fled from India to the United States on or about June 26. Following his departure, a competent court issued non-bailable warrants against him on July 7. Rangila eventually returned to India on September 23 and was taken into custody by the investigating agency the following day.
Tenders manipulated and bills cleared within days for favored firms
The Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), represented in court by Senior Public Prosecutor Kumar Sanjay, argued that public tenders were systematically manipulated to favor commercial entities owned and controlled by the pharmaceutical trader. The prosecution submitted that tender specifications were tailor-made specifically for Rangila’s firms, enabling him to gain an unfair advantage. Rangila even prepared technical evaluation sheets himself, which were subsequently approved by compliant officials within hours.
The prosecution highlighted clear bias in the clearing of payments across vendors. While bills submitted by Rangila’s firms were cleared within a day or two, other legitimate suppliers were forced to wait for more than two years to receive their dues. The court also recorded that two other First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against the accused at Laxmi Nagar police station in Delhi and Sadar police station in Karnal, confirming his previous criminal antecedents.
Missing procurement files and senior health officials named in chargesheet
The core of the multi-crore scam centres on the Central Procurement Agency (CPA), the nodal agency responsible for purchasing and distributing medicines, vaccines, and medical equipment to healthcare facilities and hospitals administered by the Delhi government. In addition to irregularities in the award of contracts, the ACB informed the court that 10 vital procurement files linked to the transactions could not be traced and remain missing from the official records.
The chargesheet submitted by the investigating agency names three senior public servants as accused in the procurement conspiracy. These include Dr Ranga, the Head of Office of the Central Procurement Agency; Dr Vatsala Aggarwal, chief of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS); and Neeraj Chopra, the former deputy controller of accounts at the CPA. The court maintained that the gravity of the accusations, combined with Rangila’s active evasion and manipulation, disqualified him from the grant of bail.
