CBI arrested a Chartered Accountant of Coimbatore hospital for bribing home ministry official

CBI arrested a Chartered Accountant of Coimbatore hospital for bribing home ministry official The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) detained the chartered accountant of Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore on Wednesday, and charged hospital chairman Dr S Rajasekaran and another auditor with paying home ministry officials to renew their NGO's licence. The FIR filed by the CBI's anti-corruption bureau in New Delhi on May 10 identifies 37 people as suspects, including Dr Rajesekaran and certain officials of the Union home ministry who previously worked in the FCRA division. Vageesh, a chartered accountant who worked for Ganga Medical Centre and Hospital Pvt. Ltd. on behalf of Ganga Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, has been arrested (GOREF). On Wednesday, the CBI brought him before a special court in Coimbatore. He is the ninth accused, whereas Dr. Rajasekaran and auditor Suguna Ravichandran are the eighth and tenth, respectively. According to the FIR, the hospital management, which also runs the Ganga Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation (GOREF), an NGO, allegedly authorised Vageesh to pay a bribe of '2 lakh to Parmod Kumar Bhasin, who worked as an officer in the Union Home Ministry's FCRA division in New Delhi, to renew the licence. Vageesh contacted Bhasin, who sought a bribe of Rs. 2 lakh in exchange for the completion of their yearly returns without penalty. Vageesh informed him that he needed management consent before paying such bribes. Suguna Ravichandran, auditor of GOREF and the tenth accused in the FIR, approached Bhasin on April 6 for a negotiation and asked him to reduce the sum to 1.5 lakh. Ravichandran agreed to pay the bribe when Bhasin renewed his demand for 2 lakh. Vageesh later confirmed to Bhasin that the money had been approved by management, but in two instalments. Bhasin instructed him to pay 1.5 lakh as soon as possible and 50,000 following the FCRA registration renewal. The ministry received a tip on the trade, and the CBI began investigating. According to sources, the agency discovered that many NGOs had bribed him to renew his licence. So far, 37 persons have been arrested across the country under IPC sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine any document or electronic record). Vageesh was transported to New Delhi after appearing before the special court for CBI matters in Coimbatore on Wednesday. Link