Delhi Medical Procurement Scam Acb Raids Supplier Rajiv Rangila Absconding

efore the agency, ACB officials launched searches for him across Delhi-NCR and Uttarakhand, sources said. Rangila has been actively supplying medicines and medical equipment in Delhi and Uttarakhand for over a decade, according to investigators. The agency is also planning to issue a look out circular (LOC) against him, sources added.

Rangila, said officers, is a key suspect in the case. He has been named in the FIR for allegedly creating fake companies and firms using fictitious owners. He is accused of colluding with manufacturers of medical equipment to fix supply rates and the kickbacks that were to be paid back in cash.

“Some of these firms include F Med Devices, Technocrats, Raj Shree, Ashi Surgical and Pharmaceuticals, and M Sahib and Sons Pvt. Ltd. Even as these firms were created with others registered as owners, the actual operator is Rajiv Rangila,” the complaint filed by the Vigilance Department with the ACB states. The ACB converted the complaint into an FIR on June 2.

The alleged irregularities first came to light in May this year when the Vigilance Department conducted raids at the offices of the Central Procurement Agency (CPA), the nodal agency responsible for procuring and supplying medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to Delhi government hospitals and healthcare facilities, following complaints.

Sources said the tender specifications and terms were allegedly drafted to favour chosen firms and fake companies were put on records to create confusion.

Rangila allegedly prepared restrictive specifications in collusion with manufacturers, after which the documents were routed to Dr Vinod Kumar Ranga, Head of Office (HOO) of the CPA, who placed them before the tender committee. Ranga was the first one to be arrested in the case on June 18.

According to the complaint, members of the tender committees were allegedly coerced into approving these tailor-made specifications.

Former DGHS chief Dr Vatsala Aggarwal, who was arrested on June 27 in connection with the case, allegedly gave the final approval to the skewed tender conditions. Along with Aggarwal, Deputy Controller of Accounts (DCA) Neeraj Chopra was also arrested.

Officials alleged that fake companies controlled by Rangila submitted bills for supplies made to the CPA, and payments were released within one or two days.

As per the complaint, several tenders that have already been awarded and fully paid for continue to appear on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal as “active”, “under process”, or at the stage of “financial bid evaluation”. According to officials, this modus operandi prevented the public and competing firms from knowing whether a tender had been finalised, who had secured it, and at what rates.

“It has also been informed that payments to medicine suppliers that had been supplying medicines to the CPA/DGHS in previous years have remained pending for the last two years. However, payments for tenders awarded since October, in which Rajiv Rangila is allegedly involved, were made on the same day or the following day,” an official said.

Officials added that Rangila’s family members are also being contacted to ascertain his whereabouts.