Mumbai’s crime branch has found unaccounted funds in accounts of the main accused, indicating involvement of few more hospitals, hence probing a racket of fake hospital bills to claim financial aid from Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Crime branch had arrested Dr Anil Nagrale, Arti Sigwan, her husband Nitin Amrute and his touts, Sandesh Mogvira, Vijay Ghatlikar and Ganesh Mudaliar in August for allegedly siphoning Rs 75 lakh from the fund by submitting fake bills of 64 false patients from Thane’s Sharda hospital. Dr Bhavika Patil, a former partner of Dr Nagrale, had exposed the scam.

The accused had submitted 64 fake applications of people suffering from life threatening diseases and got 57 bills cleared, claiming Rs 75 lakh. During inquiry, it emerged that Dr Nagrale received Rs 38 lakh and Sigwan Rs 37 lakh, out of Rs 75 lakh from the accounts of Sharda hospital. Police have also found another Rs 40 lakh in the accounts of Arti, who seems to be the main accused. An official said that she has not cooperated in the investigations and they suspect she received more money from the relief fund, through other private hospitals, which are under investigation.

Also, the police found that private laboratories’ medical reports have been submitted along with documents with each application to the relief fund. They questioned few officials of the laboratories and found their letterheads were fake. They also found traces of burnt documents from Sigwan’s house, which indicates that when they learnt the police were searching for them, they burnt the fake lab reports and other government hospital reports. Thus, the police added IPC section 201 for destruction of evidence last week.

Police are also trying to find out if any government hospital officials are involved. This whole gang would move around slum areas and identify people below the poverty line (BPL), trap them with promises of finance, use their name and Aadhaar card, and claim that they were suffering from some life-threatening disease. Then they would submit forged laboratory and medical reports signed by Dr Nagrale and claim money from the fund.

Economically weaker patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses and if planning for a liver, bone marrow or heart transplant, or prosthetic limb implant, can apply up to Rs 3 lakh under this relief fund.