Delhi Health Procurement Irregularities: Officials Arrested, Political Parties Trade Charges
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday stated that the Delhi government acted swiftly by suspending officials after receiving information about alleged irregularities in the Health Department. “The government acted immediately by suspending the officials against whom allegations were made. Now, those officials have also been arrested,” said Abhay Verma, Delhi BJP chief spokesperson, responding to allegations made by Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Mr. Bharadwaj had on Sunday questioned the appointment of former Director General of Health Services Dr. Vatsala Aggarwal in 2025, calling it “against norms” since a vigilance inquiry was pending regarding appointments at the Delhi State Cancer Institute.
On Saturday, the Delhi government’s Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) arrested Dr. Aggarwal in connection with an alleged procurement scam involving medicines, surgical items, and medical equipment. Prior to this, the ACB had arrested Dr. Vijay Kumar Ranga in the same case. He was later remanded in four-day police custody by a city court.
The AAP continued its attack on Monday, alleging that the irregularities, which it pegged at around ₹650 crore, could not have been carried out by a single officer. The party demanded a wider probe and accused the Delhi government of centralising procurement to facilitate the purchases.
Health Minister Pankaj Singh refuted the allegations. “AAP’s claims are baseless. ₹650 crore was not even the expenditure in the whole exercise. Action will be taken based on the investigation report,” he told reporters.
