Ayushman fraud case: ED raids premises of Congress MLA in Himachal Pradesh

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today carried out searches at the premises of Congress MLA RS Bali and some private hospitals and their promoters in Himachal Pradesh as part of its probe into a money laundering case related to alleged fraud in the Ayushman Bharat scheme, officials said.

ED teams have been carrying out searches at 19 locations, including Shimla, Kangra, Una, Mandi and Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, besides Bali in Delhi and Chandigarh and the premises of some private hospitals and their promoters since morning, the officials said.

The searches were also conducted at bali and fortis hospitals in Kangra (promotered by Bali’s company Himachal Healthcare Pvt Ltd), besides Balaji Hospital and its promoter Rajesh Sharma, they said.

According to officials, Rajesh Sharma is considered to be “close” to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. He had given up his ticket for Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur in the recently held Dehra assembly bypoll.