Lucknow:
Sunil Verma, an officer among those accused of stealing crores worth of funds meant for better health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, has died after he shot himself in the head in his government flat in Lucknow. Mr Verma's is the fourth death linked to the National Rural Health Mission swindle. The CBI's investigation has caused huge churn in UP politics in the last few weeks. Friends of Mr Verma's family say he had been depressed since his home was raided by the CBI on January 4.
A suicide note has been found, police said. The note, purportedly written by Mr Verma, said that he had done no wrong while implementing schemes under his department; but the CBI raided him, he was depressed and had decided to kill himself. The note found says no one is to blame for his death. The police is treating the official's death prima facie as a suicide.
Mr Verma worked as a Project Manager with the construction and design service of the UP Jal Nigam, one of the departments involved in implementing the National Rural Health Mission Scheme. The CBI is investigating a maze of officials and politicians who allegedly colluded to steal close to 5000 crores sent by the Centre to provide accessible and affordable health services to the poorest households in the remotest regions. Mr Verma's department is allegedly accountable for the misuse of 500 crores.
Among those who allegedly played a starring role in the health funds swindle is Babu Singh Kushwaha, who as Minister for Family Welfare, headed a department riddled with corruption and crime - two senior doctors affiliated to his department were murdered; another was found dead in a Lucknow jail in mysterious circumstances. Mr Kushwaha was sacked by Mayawati and was accepted by the BJP a few weeks ago, a decision that backfired with many senior party leaders objecting to his entry. His membership of the BJP has since been suspended.
The swindle has embarrassed the Mayawati government weeks ahead of the state's elections, but the UP Chief Minister sought to make political capital out of adversity today when she questioned the timing and said it was a political conspiracy. "Why this focus on the NRHM during elections?" asked Mayawati, speaking exclusively to NDTV. She put the blame for any wrongdoing on the Centre's officials, saying it was they who were responsible for releasing money for the NRHM scheme, each batch released after they were sure that work was being done.
"NRHM is an independent department. Why did they (the Centre) keep releasing money if there was wrongdoing?" Mayawati said, adding that she did not see her party suffering for this politically. The UPA government launched its flagship National Rural Health Mission in 2005. Uttar Pradesh was the largest beneficiary.
Congress General Secretary Divijaya Singh has termed Mr Verma's death as "murder" and demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
In October 2010, Dr Vinod Arya, the Chief Medical Officer of the Family Welfare Department (then headed by Mr Kushwaha) was killed. Six months later, the man who replaced him, Dr BP Singh, was murdered. In June 2011, a man who had worked for them and had been arrested for their deaths, Yogendra Singh Sachan, was found dead at a Lucknow jail.
The Allahabad High Court ordered the CBI to investigate the trio of deaths and the swindle entrenched in their department.
The government's auditor has said that more than half of 8500 crores sent by the Centre to UP (from 2005 to 2011) have been embezzled.