New Delhi, 18 August (H.S.):

The Rouse Avenue Court has granted four weeks of interim bail to Dr Vatsala Aggarwal, former Director General of Health Services in Delhi, in connection with the alleged Delhi medicine scam. Special Judge Vidya Prakash ordered her release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of the same amount.

Earlier, on August 17, the court had rejected the bail plea of another accused in the case, Dr Vinod Kumar Ranga. Both accused were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch. They have been accused of alleged irregularities amounting to around Rs 700 crore in the procurement of medicines and medical equipment.

During the hearing, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, appearing for Dr Vatsala Aggarwal, submitted that she had been in custody for the past 40 days. He said the petitioner was suffering from health problems, which had also been mentioned in the remand order.

Gupta further argued that Aggarwal had been made a “scapegoat” to protect certain senior officials. He also submitted that nothing had been recovered from her residence.

Appearing for accused Dr Vinod Kumar Ranga, advocate Vijay Bishnoi had submitted that his client had been in custody for 54 days. He argued that if the investigating agency required additional time to complete the probe, the petitioner should be granted interim bail. However, the court had observed that it was not inclined to release the petitioner on interim bail.

The Anti-Corruption Branch registered an FIR in the case on June 2 following a complaint by the Directorate of Vigilance. The FIR alleges financial irregularities amounting to approximately Rs 700 crore in the procurement of medicines, surgical supplies and medical equipment.

According to the FIR, the alleged irregularities were carried out through the Directorate General of Health Services and the Central Procurement Agency of the Delhi government.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar