Assam : Prime accused in Ayushman Bharat Scheme scam arrested in Hailakandi

Hailakandi Police on December 17 arrested the prime accused in the Ayushman Bharat card scam. The accused has been identified as Mabjil Borbhuiya. The accused is also the proprietor of "Shifa Hospital and Research Centre" in Hailakandi. Borbhuiya  is involved in manufacturing and distribution of fake cards of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

Superintendent of Police of Hailakandi district, Nabaneet Mahanta said that further investigation is on and no one will be spared involved in the scam. 

Earlier on November 2022, As many as three youths were arrested by the Barpeta Police for their invol

vement in manufacture and distribution of fake cards of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. The three youths arrested were identified as Dhanjit Baishya, Rezaul Haque and Dhruvajyoti Talukdar. As per information, Dhanjit Baishya belonged to Chenga area while Rezaul Haque and Dhruvajyoti Talukdar were residents of Shuk Manah and Shanti Nagar areas of Barpeta town respectively.

It is known that the arrested trio were employed in a contractor firm involved in making Ayushman Bharat cards for beneficiaries.

Ayushman Bharat Yojana or National Health Protection Scheme is a program which aims to provide a service to create a healthy, capable and content new India. Presently it is running as a pilot project in Uttar Pradesh from 4 September 2018. It has two goals, one, creating a network of health and wellness infrastructure across the nation to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare services, and another is to provide insurance cover to at least 40 per cent of India's population which is majorly deprived of secondary and tertiary care services.

This centrally sponsored flagship scheme aims to provide an annual health cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh to vulnerable 10 crore families (approximately 50 crore persons – 40% of country’s population) based on Socio Economic and Caste Census database.