New Delhi, 9 May

The CBI has arrested two more persons -- a medical equipment supplier and a nurse -- in connection with an alleged bribery racket in Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here, officials said on Thursday.

With the arrest of Akarshan Gulati, territory sales manager of Biotroniks, and nurse Shalu Sharma, the total number of arrests in this case stands at 11. This includes two cardiologists and three hospital support staff who were taken into custody on Wednesday, they said.

Shalu and clerk Bhuwal Jaiswal had allegedly threatened a man that they would throw his pregnant wife out of the hospital if he did not pay them Rs 20,000. Shalu had allegedly threatened to stop the treatment of the man's wife and discharge her. The man paid the amount through UPI, according to the FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

It is alleged that Assistant Professor Parvatagouda Channappagouda, arrested on Wednesday, had asked Gulati to clear his dues. Gulati had connected him to his employee Monika Sinha, claiming he was out of the station. Channappagouda then asked Sinha to pay Rs 36,000 through UPI and the rest in cash.

The CBI arrested Channappagouda and RML cardiology Professor Ajay Raj for taking bribes from medical equipment suppliers to use their products and stents, the officials said.

The agency has also arrested medical equipment supplier Naresh Nagpal of Nagpal Technologies, who paid Rs 2.48 lakh to Channappagouda to promote the sale of medical equipment; Bharat Singh Dalal of Bharti Medical Technologies, who bribed Raj using UPI twice; and Abrar Ahmed, who paid bribes to hospital Cath Lab incharge Rajnish Kumar and Channappagouda.

Jaiswal, Sanjay Kumar and middleman Vikas Kumar were also arrested in an operation on Wednesday, the officials said.