Ludhiana civil hospital technician caught red-handed while accepting bribe

Ludhiana civil surgeon Dr Jasbir Singh Aulakh planned the sting after a man approached him, complaining that the said lab technician had asked him for ₹3,000 for a negative dope test report. He had applied for the report in order to get an arms licence

A team of health officials caught a civil hospital lab technician accepting a bribe to make a “fake” dope test certificate, in a sting operation on Saturday.

Dr Aulakh said the dope test does not detect alcohol. (Shutterstock)

Ludhiana civil surgeon Dr Jasbir Singh Aulakh planned the sting after a man approached him, complaining that the said lab technician had asked him for ₹3,000 for a negative dope test report. He had applied for the report in order to get an arms licence.

“In my office, he negotiated with the lab technician over a call. That is when we planned the sting,” said Dr Aulakh.

Dr Auklah added that the man was an occasional drinker and the accused had made him believe that it would show up on the test. In order to make a negative report, the accused then asked him for money, the civil surgeon added.

Dr Aulakh added that the dope test does not detect alcohol.

On Saturday morning, the man reached the laboratory and took the test and after that, he was asked for the money. The man paid ₹3,000 in ₹500 notes, the serial number of which were already noted by the officials. After the technician received the payment, he was nabbed by the seven-member team, which included three senior medical officers. The said notes were recovered from the technician.

The technician was under suspicion already as last week, the civil surgeon’s office had received information about a drug addict obtaining a negative report from the lab.

“I asked senior medical officer Dr Mandeep Kaur to call have the man tested again, which showed him positive for four substances,” Dr Aulakh said.

These reports are used for multiple purposes, such like acquiring a firearms license, government jobs and continuation of service, among others.

Dr Aulkah said that he will write to the director health to call for departmental action and if allowed, a first-information report (FIR) would be registered against him.

He added that an inquiry into the reports issued in the last few months will be conducted and for those cases where fake reports were issued for firearms licences or renewal, he will write to deputy commissioner to take appropriate action.