Jaipur: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday filed a chargesheet against former National Health Mission (NHM) director Neeraj K. Pawan and four others in a 2016 bribery and financial irregularities case linked to the Arogya Rath scheme. The investigating agency submitted nearly 5,000 pages of documents before the court. The case concerns allegations that fake bills were prepared in the name of Arogya Rath vehicles used for promoting health department schemes and government payments were obtained on the basis of inflated claims.
According to the ACB, the chargesheet names Neeraj K. Pawan, accountant Joji Varghese, assistant accounts officer Deepa Gupta, alleged middleman Ajit Soni and Sunil Rathore as accused. Soon after the chargesheet was filed, Rathore, who had allegedly been absconding for a long time, surrendered before the ACB court on Friday. The investigation concerning Surendra Singh, whose firm had secured the contract for operating the Arogya Rath vehicles, has been kept pending.
Arogya Rath operations allegedly inflated on paper
According to the investigation, Arogya Rath vehicles were planned across Rajasthan to promote various health department schemes. The ACB has alleged that the vehicles were shown as operating for substantially more days in official records than they actually did, allowing payments of more than ₹1 crore to be claimed through allegedly fabricated bills.
The investigation found that the NHM’s Information, Education and Communication (IEC) branch initially had a budget of around ₹1.60 crore for the work. The ACB has alleged that middleman Ajit Soni, in coordination with officials, got the budget increased to around ₹5 crore. The contract for the promotional work was subsequently awarded to Surendra Electrotech.
The investigating agency said the firm submitted bills for work carried out between October and December 2015. The bills reportedly showed Arogya Rath operations equivalent to 1,369 days. Subsequently, allegedly inflated claims covering 2,548 days were approved and payments were released with the alleged involvement of officials and the middleman.
Departmental inquiry found major discrepancy
A subsequent inquiry by the medical department also found a significant difference between the actual operations of the Arogya Rath vehicles and the number of days mentioned in the bills. The inquiry reportedly found that the vehicles had operated for only 552 days during the three-month period, while bills for nearly 2,000 additional days were allegedly prepared to obtain payments.
The ACB has alleged that the process of preparing and clearing the bills involved the contractor, Ajit Soni, then NHM director Neeraj K. Pawan, accounts officer Deepa Gupta, additional director Anil Agrawal and store-related employee Joji Varghese.
Alleged 17% commission collected from firms
The investigating agency has further alleged that firms involved in the scheme were charged commissions of up to 17%. Of this, 5% was allegedly collected during the tendering process, while another 12% was allegedly taken when bills were processed and payments released. The ACB investigation also refers to the alleged distribution of the bribe amount among those involved.
Prosecution sanction against Neeraj K. Pawan was granted in 2021, according to the investigation. Based on the documents and evidence collected during the probe, the ACB has now filed the chargesheet against the five accused. The allegations and supporting documents will be examined during the subsequent judicial proceedings.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
