Three govt hospital guards held for extorting money from patient's relatives in Chhattisgarh

Raigarh: Three security guards of a government hospital were arrested for extortion on Monday after they were allegedly found charging relatives of a pregnant woman money to enter the facility in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, police said.

The accused allegedly demanded Rs 100 per person to issue entry passes to relatives of a woman who had come for delivery at Sant Baba Guru Ghasidas Ji Memorial Government Hospital here on Sunday, an official said.

The guards, Ravishankar Gautam, Omprakash Patel and Shivendra Shukla, were from the private security firm, Bundela Securities Bilaspur, he said.

The video of the alleged incident went viral on social media, following which Raigarh collector Kartikeya Goel directed the hospital administration to take immediate action, the official said.

Based on a complaint, a case was registered at Chakradhar Nagar police station under sections 384 (extortion) and 418 (cheating with the knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to person whose interest offender is bound to protect) of the Indian Penal Code, he said.

A probe revealed that the trio allegedly took money from family members of patients to issue passes when entry to the medical facility was free, the official said, adding that further probe is under way.