Bhubaneswar, April 25: Three touts were arrested today for allegedly referring patients to private nursing homes and diagnostic centres from Capital Hospital in exchange of commission.

The three were arrested from the hospital after cops from the Capital police station during a surprise check.

The accused have been identified as Chiranjit Rout, 21, of Jajpur, Deepti Ranjan Swain, 31, of Nimapada and Papu Jena, 29, of Nayagarh.

The police said all the three had been arrested on charges of cheating.

They had been operating from the government hospital for the past six months. They used to get between 10 and 20 per cent commission for sending patients to other nursing homes and diagnostic centres.

"The brokers used to persuade patients and attendants, especially those coming from far-off places. We have been receiving complaints of touts diverting patients to various private hospitals. All of them were caught red handed," said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Touts often try to divert patients and attendants to private facilities citing the lack of facilities at the hospital.

"Sometimes, they pursue patients by saying people with similar ailments had died at the hospital owing to poor facilities and negligence of doctors," said a police official.

Capital Hospital authorities have now formed teams to keep a check on suspicious people on the hospital premises.

"It has been decided to issue entry passes to the attendants of patients admitted to the hospital to restrict the entry of unscrupulous elements. Each team of three members will take care of the overall discipline on the hospital premises," said director of the hospital Chittaranjan Das.

The hospital authorities have decided to keep only one entrance open at night. Three entrances remain open during the day.

The authorities have also asked security guards to keep a watch on outsiders loitering on the hospital premises without any valid reason.

International flight

The first international flight to and from Biju Patnaik International Airport will operate today. The AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur will land in Bhubaneswar at 11.25pm and leave for the Malaysian capital at 11.55pm.