Bengaluru upgrades software after Covid bed scam

The move comes in the wake of a scam where beds for Covid patients in hospitals are 'blocked' using fake names.

Bengaluru: The software used for booking of hospital beds for Covid patients in Bengaluru will be updated shortly, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike chief commissioner Gaurav Gupta has said.

The move comes in the wake of a scam where beds for Covid patients in hospitals are 'blocked' using fake names.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya had said that hospitals in the city 'blocked' at least 4,065 beds in fake names to make profits at a time when COVID-19 cases were rising in Karnataka.

These beds are blocked in the name of asymptomatic patients who are in home isolation. They are fraudulently shown as occupying the beds in hospitals, he had said.

Four persons were arrested on Wednesday for fraud and malpractice in the allotment of beds on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) portal in Bengaluru.

"We have registered two cases that have been shifted to Central Crime Branch (CCB) for further investigation. We are also checking if the software has been misused at any point," said the Police Commissioner, Bengaluru City.

According to BBMP chief commissioner, Dr Suresh of the Bommanahalli Zone, Dr Rehan of the war room in-charge of the South Zone, have been interrogated. As Dr Suresh has tested positive, he is now in home isolation, added chief commissioner.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has ordered an inquiry into the bed blocking scam in all eight zones of the Covid war room.

Karnataka reported 50,112 new COVID cases and 346 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the state health department on Wednesday. With the new cases, the case tally reached 17,41,046. As many as 26,841 people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours. The total number of active cases stands at 4,87,288.