Lucknow:
A minister in the Uttar Pradesh government has been accused by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Gonda district of abducting him. The CMO, S P Singh, said that the Revenue and Rehabilitation Minister Vinod Kumar Singh was trying to force him into including the names of contractual doctors under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scheme.
Mr Singh has alleged in a verbal complaint that the minister abducted him from his Gonda residence in central Uttar Pradesh.
Additional Director (Health) A K Gangwar said that the CMO has so far declined to file a written complaint. "He told me on the phone that this incident has happened, related to selection of health officials," Mr Gangwar said.
Local reports suggest that the CMO was rescued by the district administration and sent to Lucknow, which is 100 km from Gonda.
CMOs are government officials who help set and implement public health policies.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is in Mumbai for actor Amitabh Bachchan's 70th birthday and was unavailable for a comment. State Health Minister Ahmed Hasan said, "We are looking into the accusation and action will be taken against those who are found guilty."
There is no word yet of any action on the CMO's complaint by the UP government led by Akhilesh Yadav.
Vinod Kumar Singh, also known as Pandit Singh, has denied the charge. He also has three criminal cases against him in which he has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, assault and most recently, for influencing his election under the Representation of the People Act.
A massive scam in NRHM had rocked the previous Mayawati government in the state and three CMOs linked to the scam lost their lives. One of them, arrested by the police, was found dead inside a jail. An inquiry concluded that he committed suicide, though there is wide skepticism about this.
NRHM has been allocated Rs 20,400 crore for 2012-13. The scheme has been plagued with allegations of massive corruption. The Uttar Pradesh government had announced last week that it will conduct "sting operations" in local health facilities to check misuse and embezzlement of funds.
In the previous BSP regime, an MLA had beaten a government engineer to death after he allegedly refused to contribute to the party funds. Then-chief minister had him arrested and tried, and he now faces life imprisonment.