The State government has been accused of hushing up corruption in the purchase of equipment at the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at the Government Medical College, Kozhikode.
Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) State secretary N. Venu told the media on Tuesday that though the Kozhikode unit of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had recommended a detailed investigation into the affair after a preliminary probe, the State office did not approve of the proposal. He claimed that the Accountant General’s office too had recorded objections to certain activities at the lab in their report.
Mr. Venu pointed out that two equipment costing over ₹2 crore, bought in 2019 for the lab, were never used. As their warranty period would expire in the coming months, lakhs of rupees would have to be spent on maintenance. Test kits were bought for dengue fever and measles in 2017 from a private company. However, that company was found to manufacture test kits only for dengue fever. Though the Indian Council of Medical Research had suggested buying deep freezers from an Italian company, they were bought from a Maharashtra-based company at a higher cost.
Mr. Venu also said that private companies were found to have credited and debited money from an official joint account opened to handle funds for the development of the virology lab. The RMPI leader sought a probe by a Central agency into the deals.
