Nagpur: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Nagpur, has launched a full-scale probe into a shocking forgery and corruption racket involving Dr. Prithvi Krishna Patta, Medical Superintendent of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) Dispensary at Civil Lines, Nagpur, and Kamlesh N. Lalwani, Proprietor of M/s Sadguru Medical Stores, Nagpur.
The CBI has begun scrutinizing bank accounts, financial transactions, and stock ledgers of both accused after uncovering large-scale manipulation of medical prescriptions and inflated bill submissions meant for WCL employees.
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9 Oct 2025
The probe stems from a Joint Surprise Check (JSC) conducted by the CBI and the WCL Vigilance Department on September 17, 2025, which exposed blatant tampering of patient prescriptions. Investigators found that Dr. Patta had added expensive medicines in the original prescriptions, written in his own handwriting, while these drugs were absent in the carbon copies kept at the dispensary for official record. Several patients later confirmed that they had never received those costly medicines from Sadguru Medical Stores.
CBI officials revealed that Kamlesh Lalwani had submitted inflated bills worth Rs 1,55,443 for March 2025, which were immediately flagged and stopped before payment. The investigation further found that the duo had conspired to claim another Rs 51,435 through fake and exaggerated medical bills.
“It’s a clear case of manipulation, forgery, and corruption, carried out in collusion between the doctor and the chemist,” said a senior CBI source. The agency suspects that the fraudulent billing pattern may have continued for several months during 2024–25, bleeding the public sector company of lakhs of rupees.
A Regular Case has been registered against both accused under Sections 61(2), 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).
The investigation is being led by P. K. Ghodeswar, Additional Superintendent of Police, CBI ACB Nagpur, under the supervision of Rishikesh Bhagwan Sonawane, IPS, Superintendent of Police and Head of Branch (HoB), CBI, ACB Nagpur.
Sources said the CBI is now tracking money trails, verifying account transfers, and cross-checking pharmacy stock registers to determine the extent and duration of the fraud. More officials and staff involved in the medical billing and verification process are likely to face questioning in the coming days.
