Theft of Rs 15cr bills: PGI probe unearths scam

A major scandal at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) in Chandigarh involved the disappearance of 364 bundles of verified billing documents worth Rs 15 crore (approximately $1.8 million USD) from the central store of Nehru Hospital's Amrit pharmacy. These bills, raised under schemes like Ayushman Bharat, HIMCARE, and JSSK, were initially reported stolen in March 2025, with insiders suspecting deliberate elimination by internal staff to cover financial irregularities, inflated bills, or duplicate indents, allowing the pharmacy to retain advance payments.

The PGI vigilance cell's preliminary inquiry in April 2025, triggered by the accounts department, ruled out external theft due to intact locks and CCTV showing suspicious activity but no break-in, concluding it was an inside job. The report recommends police FIR with Chandigarh's crime branch and highlights links to prior stolen indent books, urging deeper probe into potential fraud misappropriation.