The CBI team from Ghaziabad raided the CGHS office in Vasundhara and caught the private driver of Additional Director Natasha Verma while allegedly accepting a bribe, in a case linked to the release of hospital payments under the Central Government Health Scheme.
Bribe Allegations Linked to Release of Hospital Bills
The action followed a complaint by Dr. Ravindra Dagar of Santosh Hospital. The allegation is that money was being demanded in the name of releasing CGHS payments. Amounts were allegedly being collected from hospitals at a rate linked to their bills, with one version of the allegation stating that two per cent was being taken from each hospital and another saying that cash ranging from two to five per cent of hospital bills was being collected.
The CBI team is said to have reached the CGHS office on Thursday evening in two cars and taken control of all entry gates before taking Additional Director Natasha Verma and her driver Sunny into custody. The driver was allegedly collecting the money at Verma’s instance.
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Searches, Questioning and Document Scrutiny
CBI officials later took Natasha Verma and her driver to their residence in Gangangar, where both are said to live, and continued search operations there late into the night. The private driver was being questioned and that staff posted at the CGHS office were stopped by the CBI team and subjected to detailed questioning.
The report further states that memorandums of understanding signed by Natasha Verma are also being examined closely. Officials are said to be checking which hospitals received signed clearances and how much money was allegedly collected in relation to those bill payments.
Fresh Action After Earlier Arrests
This is not the first action in the matter. They note that nine months earlier, the CGHS office’s Additional Director, office superintendent and a private employee had also been arrested.
The latest development places the focus once again on alleged corruption in the release of CGHS payments, with investigators examining the role of officials, staff and signed hospital documents as part of a wider probe.
About the author – Rehan Khan is a law student and legal journalist with a keen interest in cybercrime, digital fraud, and emerging technology laws. He writes on the intersection of law, cybersecurity, and online safety, focusing on developments that impact individuals and institutions in India.
