BHOPAL: The sleuths of the Economic Offences Wing have caught a whiff of a huge amount of money filched from the funds meant for buying medical equipment and medicines.
They are, however, focussing only on its trail. The probe agency believes that the money peculated by some shell companies from the supply of medical equipment and medicines was stashed away to foreign countries.
It has lodged a complaint against the then principal secretary, director, chief medical and health officers and other employees of the health department for nicking more than Rs 500 crore.
The government had sanctioned the funds to buy medicines and medical equipment for hospitals across the state.
Leaders of the Congress and the BJP, senior IAS officers, IPS officers, directors, some chief medical officers, employees of Mantralaya and health directorate nicked the money through fake tenders.
The appropriating of funds which started from 2003 continued till 2010, sources in the EOW said.
The matter was earlier reported to different probe agencies which have completed investigations.
Nevertheless, the sources in EOW said they were not keen on digging out corruption-related issues.
They are simply eying on the money which the five shell companies had filched and siphoned off to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries.
Although the agencies concentrated on the investigation into corruption and wanted to lay their hands on the main player who had floated the tender for supplies and made a plan to dodge the agencies, the EOW wanted to explore the trail.
Sources said money was not only stashed away to foreign lands, it was brought back to India through different channels.
The lucre came in the form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and in other forms.
The EOW is listing the companies which politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and their family members own. Besides they are trying to dig out the names of the firms where they have invested the money, sources said.
The EOS has come to know about eight companies which are associated with some political and administrative bigwigs who have invested the purloined money with those firms.
Once the EOW lays its hands on the money trail, it may hand over the case to the Enforcement Directorate or to the CBI for the further investigation.
