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Cuttack/Bhubaneswar, June 24: The Orissa High Court Friday rejected an anticipatory bail application moved by suspended assistant director of the state’s Directorate of Factories and Boilers (medical) whose name has surfaced in a health check-up scam.
With this, the earlier interim relief granted to him by the HC stands cancelled.
Taking up the anticipatory bail petition, the HC had earlier this month granted an interim protection to Motilal Gouda restraining the police from arresting him till June 24 (Friday).
When the petition came up for hearing Friday, the single bench of Justice J P Das rejected it after the police strongly opposed it. The state crime branch police are investigating the case.
Gouda, who is said to have strong political links, was suspected to be the mastermind behind issuance of a recent fake gazette notification in which corporate houses and private companies in the state were asked to get their employees health check-ups in certain selected pathological laboratories.
It is alleged that Gouda received kickbacks to the tune of over `1 crore from these empanelled laboratories.
Notably, Gouda, who was in the list of ‘‘absconding doctors’’ of health and family welfare (H&FW) department had joined labour department without obtaining an NOC.
The Labour and ESI department has landed in soup over his appointment as the health department has passed the onus on to the department.
Health secretary Arti Ahuja, however, speaking to reporters at Secretariat in the day said, “It was the Labour department which had to verify his previous posting, police record and NOC before giving him (Gauda) appointment.”
Meanwhile, opening his mouth on this issue for the first time, Labour Minister Prafulla Mallck said, “The appointment hasn’t been during my tenure as a minister.”
He further said it was his department which has brought the activities of Gauda to fore. The minister, however, refrained from divulging more information.
The Crime Branch inquiry to this matter is going on.
In view of allegations of Gouda’s links with law minister Arun Sahoo, MLAs Byamokesh Ray, Pranab Balabantaray and Anubhav Patnaik, Congress and BJP activists demanded a CBI probe or institution of an SIT investigation into the matter.
