AGARTALA, May 16 (TIWN): After getting salvos from the High Court of Tripura (HC) recently, the probe into the multi-crore scam at national flagship programme - NRHM has come to a grinding halt. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Unakoti District Dr. Alok Dewan, accused of misappropriating allocated fund under NRHM outlay has managed to stay in comfort of his office. The High Court of Tripura has recently directed the high-level police official to take action against Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nabadwip Jamatia and Kailasahar PS OC Sabeer Ahmed for not taking the first complaint as FIR filed by Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Birajit Sinha.With another major setback to the investigation of the National Rural Health Mission (NHM) scam unearthed at Unakoti District of Tripura the FIR named corrupt Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and other officers has got an easy way to escape from the entire allegations against them.Most interestingly, since after the FIR was lodged by the NHM Mission Director Dr. Sandeep Mahatme against 17 CMOs and others Police and its investigating agency has absolutely failed to arrest the accused persons. As a result, the accused officials managed to roam free in comfort of their office as of today.

As per the rule, the police would have to lodge the first complaint as FIR. But the police of Kailasahar Police Station didn’t take the complaint.

NRHM director Dr. Sandeep Mahatme registered complaints against 17 medical officers including present CMO Dr. Alok Dewan at the same police station. During the course of departmental inquiry it was revealed that Rs 4.47 crore had been allegedly siphoned off from 2006 to 2014 by five CMOs and ten medical officers in-charge (MOICs) in the undivided North district. All the CMOs and MOICs had been asked to submit papers showing utilization of fund but they could not produce till the date prompting Mahatme to lodge FIR against 17 persons.

FIR filed against 12 Medical officials of North District CMO office and 5 Medical officials of Unakoti District CMO office including Former CMO Unakoti Dr. Dilip Das, Present CMO Dr Alak Dewan, Dr Subhas Barua, Dr. S.N. Chaudhury, Dr. Debashis Talapatra.

As per TIWN sources in Police and CMO office in Kailashahar, NHM scam may even cross Rs. 30 crore as alleged by Congress MLA Birajit Sinha in October 2014 alongwith documentary evidences.  Sources also informed that Unakoti and North Tripura District corrupt CMOs are close to former Health Minister Tapan Chakraborty and trusted by CPM leadership.

Earlier, Congress MLA Birajit Sinha and party supporters had gheraoed the Dewan demanding immediate arrest of those who were involved in the misappropriation of NRHM funds.

Even after the passage of maximum days that the scam was brought under the limelight and the FIR was lodged against 17 NHM officials, police was found to neglect the case as no further development in this investigation. The police have not yet arrested the tainted officials even after the FIR was lodged against them leading them the gateway to their escape from the case.