District Court declares PGIMER ambulance racket 'kingpin' proclaimed offender

Chandigarh: The kingpin in the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research( PGIMER), ambulance racket, which was busted in May 2016, was declared a proclaimed offender by the District Court on Saturday, as he is still absconding.

Gagandeep Singh Mann, alias Fauji, was also declared a PO after the police stated in court that all their attempts to trace him had proved futile. They are believed to have raided suspected hideouts in Saharanpur and Haryana and also pasted public posters as an attempt to locate him. Fauji has believed to have participated in the election campaign for Punjab state politicians too.

Gagandeep Singh Mann, alias Fauji, was declared a proclaimed offender as he was still absconding, on the date of hearing. It is believed that Fauji participated in election campaigning for some politicians in Punjab.

The ambulance racket, in which hefty amounts were charged by gang members from kin of patients and deceased, was busted in May 2016. Two gangs are believed to have operated the racket. Apart from Fauji, the second kingpin Satinder Singh, alias Satti, a Mohali resident, has been arrested.

Seven others, including three body packers of mortuary; one staffer of PGI mortuary involved in facilitating the operation and three security guards have already been arrested. Their names are as follows:

Body packers- Ashwani (38), Tirathpal (34); Guards- Vinod Kumar (41), Sashi (34), and Gurkirpal Singh, alias Kala (40) and Ashwani Kumar (34); and Mortuary Attendant- Vicky (35).

Taxi unions also used to allegedly pay Rs 5,000 a month to Fauji and Satti, as their ambulances were used for transportation of bodies from PGIMER.

The modus-operandi involved in the operations had private ambulances parked by gang members near the emergency ward, ATC and the mortuary. Junior staff, appointed inside involving security guards, mortuary workers and sweepers, provided ambulance drivers with information regarding the arrival of critical patients and departure of the dead, reports TOI.