Bhubaneswar: As many as 31 middlemen illegally operating in various hospitals, medical colleges, blood banks and dispensaries across the state and cheating patients have been arrested, police said Thursday.
Sources at the director general of police (DGP) office said the arrests were made following Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s directive to the Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) in a video conference to weed out the middlemen illegally operating in various state-run healthcare facilities.
As many as five middlemen were arrested each from Samablpur and Bolangir and four middlemen each were arrested from Bhubaneswar, Bhadrak and Rourkela. While three middlemen have been arrested each from Mayurbahanj and Balasore, two middlemen have been taken into custody from Nabarangpur. Angul reported one such arrest, said a source.
Investigation of the cases will focus on establishing linkages of middlemen with owners of nursing homes, diagnostic centres and health officials so that legal action can be initiated against them, DGP Bijay Kumar Sharma said, adding that the drive shall continue under the direct supervision of SPs and DCPs.