False negative testing by labs led to positivity error during Kumbh Mela: ED

The Enforcement Directorate having raided offices of 5 labs in 5 different cities in connection with the probe into the alleged fake COVID testing fraud, revealed that false negative testing by labs led to positivity error during the recently-held Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand's Haridwar.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided the offices of 5 labs in 5 different cities in connection with the probe into the alleged fake COVID testing fraud that took place during the recenlty-held Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand's Haridwar. Speaking to reporters after the raids, ED officials said that the fake Covid tests carried out by the said laboratories, had led to the positivity rate of Haridwar at that time being shown at 0.18 per cent against the actual 5.3 per cent. The agency also seized several incriminating documents related to properties, fake bills, laptops, mobiles and Rs 30.9 lakh in cash. Raids in connection with the case are still on and further investigation is underway, the ED said.

"These Labs hardly carried out any COVID test (Rapid Antigen Test and RT-PCR Test), but made fake entries for the COVID testing and raised bogus bills in order to earn illegal financial gains," ED told media agencies, adding that a sum of Rs 3.4 crore had already been paid by the Uttarakhand government to the labs.

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The law enforcement agency further told media agencies that the modus operandi was executed using a single mobile number, address and a Specimen Referral Form (SRF) for several persons in order to puff up the numbers sans actual testing. The ED also added that the testing was done in the name of those persons, who had not even visited Haridwar for Kumbh Mela.

The law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency had launched a money-laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Uttarakhand Police. According to the Enforcement Directorate, the probe revealed that the above mentioned labs were handed a contract by the Uttarakhand government for carrying out Rapid Antigen Tests and RT-PCR tests for COVID testing during the Kumbh Mela this year.

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Five firms - Novus Path Labs, DNA Labs, Max Corporate Services, Dr Lal Chandani Labs Pvt Ltd and Nalwa Laboratories Pvt Ltd were among those raided along with the residences of their Directors at Dehradun, Haridwar, Delhi, Noida and Hisar.