ED Tightens Grip on Fake COVID Testing During Kumbh; Chargesheet Submitted to Court in Multi-Crore Scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet in the multi-crore COVID-19 testing scam that occurred during the 2021 Haridwar Kumbh Mela. The chargesheet has been submitted to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Dehradun, which has taken cognizance of the case. The next hearing has been scheduled for June 24, 2025. The scam involves Max Corporate Services and 14 other laboratories. According to the ED’s chargesheet, fraudulent entries of fake names were made in COVID-19 test records, resulting in a scam exceeding ₹3 crore.
Sources from the ED revealed that during the pandemic, the Uttarakhand government had authorized several pathology labs to conduct RT-PCR tests for pilgrims attending the Kumbh Mela to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These labs included Max Corporate Services, Dr. Lal Chandani Pvt. Ltd., Novus Pathology, DNA Labs, and Nalwa Laboratories. It was later discovered that these labs had entered fake identities for RT-PCR and antigen tests and claimed crores of rupees from the government. Initial investigations revealed that over 100,000 test records were suspicious during the Kumbh, indicating a scam worth more than ₹3 crore through fraudulent means.
Following these findings, the police registered a case in 2021. The scam was found to fall under the scope of money laundering, and the ED began its own investigation based on the FIR. During the investigation, the ED conducted raids at locations linked to the lab operators in Dehradun, Delhi, Noida, and Hisar, seizing ₹50 to ₹60 lakh in cash and attaching properties.
The ED has now concluded in its chargesheet that Max Corporate Services and 14 other labs defrauded over ₹3 crore under the guise of COVID-19 testing. The chargesheet states that fake individuals were listed as test recipients to fraudulently obtain large sums from the government — a clear act of financial misconduct. With the PMLA Court having taken cognizance of the chargesheet, the pace of action in the COVID testing scam is expected to accelerate.
One Mobile Number, Multiple Fake Names
According to the ED, the accused labs used a single mobile number, address, and form to enter multiple names for COVID testing. Many of these individuals were never present at the Kumbh Mela. These labs issued fake negative test results, which caused the reported COVID positivity rate in Haridwar to remain at just 0.18%, while the actual rate was closer to 5%. This discrepancy likely contributed to the rapid spread of the virus, as the fake test data downplayed the true extent of infections.
