A couple working as caretakers at the Telangana Institute of Medical Science (TIMS) Hospital in Hyderabad was arrested for allegedly stealing jewellery and other valuables worth Rs 10 lakh from dead COVID-19 patients. The Cyberabad police have booked as many as seven cases against the couple.
The accused couple, identified as Chinthalapally Raju and Chintalapally Lathasri, was working as patient caregivers in TIMS, Gachibowli. Lathasri was employed at the hospital for the last six months and her husband joined a few months later. The Gachibowli police, which falls under the Cyberabad Commissionerate, said the couple stole gold and silver ornaments from unconscious patients and also from patients who died in the second wave of COVID-19.
As part of their job, the couple had access to all patients in the hospital attending to their needs. The couple hatched a plan where Lathasri stood watch from outside of the ward while Raju stole ornaments from patients. After stealing the ornaments, the duo mortgaged those for cash at Muthoot Finance, and sold some of the gold to Attica Gold Company and Jagdamba Jewellers. The Gachibowli police, after an investigation, arrested both the accused on Friday.
The police recovered some of the gold and have booked the couple for burglary under section 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They were presented before the court and sent to judicial remand.
In another hospital-related crime, the Hyderabad police arrested a diet contractor (a person who prepares food per dietary restrictions of patients according to doctor’s recommendations) at Niloufer Hospital for the alleged misappropriation of Rs 1.2 crore. The diet contractor, Koduri Suresh Babu, who was in charge of providing diet food for patients at the hospital, is accused of preparing fake invoices of normal diet in the name of a high-protein diet, which is costlier. He also began preparing fake invoices with larger quantities than actual figures, reported The Hindu. The investigation was carried out based on complaints from the Niloufer Hospital superintendent. The scam is alleged to have cost the exchequer Rs 1.2 crore.