Proving how important the thousands of crores of rupees meant for the National Rural Health Mission in UP were, the main accused in the murder of two reportedly upright officers has also been murdered.
Dr Y S Sachan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Lucknow was found hanging in his jail cell yesterday. The Lucknow Police said that there were many injury marks on his body and the same has been sent for Post Mortem.
The picture emerging from a series of murders of high profile heath and welfare officers seem to be yet another saga of big bucks corruption infecting one of Government of India’s biggest welfare schemes — the National Rural Health Mission.
The first murder took place way back in October last year, when Dr Dr. VK Arya, Chief Medical Officer, was killed when out on a morning walk. In another six months, the second CMO, Dr. BP Singh, incharge of welfare, was also gunned down when he was too was out on his morning walk in Gomti Nagar in Lucknow.
It was later revealed that the two officials had started raising questions about how funds meant for the National Rural Health Mission were being mis-utilized.
Soon three people, including a shooter, were arrested by the state police and based on other leads, the police had arrested Dr YS Sachan, who is the latest casualty of the fight over the money meant for poor people in the villages.
Sachan was accused to organizing the murder of both of his senior officers. Now, with his death in a police cell with apparent torture marks on his body, everyone is looking at who was the real master-mind behind all the three deaths.
It is alleged that Sachan was also killed by the same person who master-minded the other two killings and who has big stakes in the thousands of crores of rupees channeled through the Rural Health Mission in the state.
Mayawati has sacked two of her ministers Babu Singh Kushwaha and Anant Mishra, in charge of health and welfare, but the two are yet to be linked to the spate of murders.
The BJP, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party have all called for a thorough probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to expose the intricate net of welfare funds, guns, goons, officials, policemen and politicians.
The mission is not the only welfare scheme that has led to widespread murders and crimes. The biggest of them all, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) too has seen widespread crime and murders associated with it.