Bhubaneswar, June 30: The crime branch has formed a special team to nab labour department official Motilal Gauda, accused of fabricating a gazette notification for health check-ups.
Gauda, assistant director (medical) of the department of labour and employees state insurance, is a 2007-batch MBBS. He has been on the run since June 24 after Orissa High Court rejected his anticipatory bail. Gauda's closeness with a BJD minister and three MLAs has led the Opposition to accuse the ruling party of patronising him. They have alleged that the police are shielding Gauda because of his political links.
The crime branch is probing the case. Sources said the investigating agency had traced him in Delhi but could not arrest him. "He has been frequently changing his location. He is moving between Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh," he said.
In another development, the anti-corruption wing of the state police has started an investigation into the alleged corrupt practices of the accused. "We will investigate to ascertain his role in showing favour to certain firms. We will also find out whether he had received any kickback from these firms," said vigilance director R.P. Sharma.
Gauda had allegedly received a bribe of Rs 1 crore from the private pathology laboratories.
In October last year, Gauda had allegedly prepared a fake gazette notification through which he directed the industrial units to conduct health check-ups of their employees at five pathology labs. Gauda had sent the list of pathology labs to around 600 companies, including those in the public sector.
Besides, how Gauda, whose name appeared in the list of absconding doctors of the state health department, managed to get a job with the labour department had raised many eyebrows. Gauda also allegedly used to run a private clinic in Nayagarh for two years while continuing his job with the labour department before being suspended earlier this month. Opposition parties have alleged that Gauda could do all these because of his proximity with powerful BJD leaders. Earlier, the state crime branch's economic offences wing had arrested two pathology laboratory owners and a middleman in connection with the fraud.
