The Uttarakhand government on Friday constituted a 7-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged fake COVID testing during Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.
The grand religious festival, which saw lakhs of devotees congregating in a pandemic year, was held from April 1 to 30 in an area spread across parts of Haridwar, Dehradun, Tehri and Pauri districts.
The Uttarakhand official conducted a preliminary inquiry into all the tests done by that particular lab during the mela and recommended a detailed inquiry after finding that more such fake reports were issued using details of different people.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat has said the fake Covid testing scam during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar dates back to before his term, while his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat demanded a judicial probe into it.
The Uttarakhand government on Thursday had lodged a case against a company and two private labs for fudging coronavirus test reports during the Kumbh Mela in April.
The firm, Max Corporate Service, Nalwa Laboratories Private Limited of Hisar and Delhi-based Dr Lalchandani Lab have been accused of issuing fake negative test reports.
An FIR was lodged by the Uttarakhand police in Haridwar on Thursday against Max Corporate Services which has been under the scanner for allegedly conducting around one lakh fake Covid tests during Kumbh Mela and two private labs with which it had signed an MoU.
Max Corporate Services on Friday moved the Uttarakhand High Court challenging an FIR filed against it for allegedly conducting nearly one lakh fake Covid tests during the Kumbh Mela.
1 lakh fake COVID-19 test reports were issued during the Kumbh Mela which saw thousands of devotees attending the festival across parts of Haridwar, Dehradun, Tehri and Pauri districts.
