By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress Thursday hit out at the Mayawati government over the death of an Uttar Pradesh health department official, alleging that there was widespread financial mismanagement in the state’s implementation of the rural health scheme and officials had been murdered.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said the Congress had repeatedly said that funds under National Rural Health Mission in Uttar Pradesh were being misappropriated.
“The Congress party has repeatedly said that the amount of money sent (to the state) under National Rural Health Mission had not been properly utilized. There are scandals… Every third day a senior official is murdered,” Soni said.
She added that matter related to murders of health officials was sub judice and under investigation.
Mahendra Sharma, a health department official missing since Feb 7, was found dead Thursday. Sharma, an accounting clerk in the state health department, was found lying in a pool of blood at a health centre in Lakhimpur Kheri.
His family has alleged the death is related to the multi-crore rural health scheme scam that has already claimed the lives of four officials.
The death comes at a time when assembly elections are under way in Uttar Pradesh.
The Rs.10,000 crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam in Uttar Pradesh relating to alleged financial irregularities in the supply of medicines and medical equipment is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Earlier, two chief medical officers, a deputy chief medical officer and a project manager linked to the scam were found dead.