During a detailed investigation by the Uttarakhand health department it has come to light that at least 1 lakh Covid19 tests were fake and the test reports were forged by a private agency.
According to a media report, a single phone number was used to get more than 50 people registered.
It has been detected that one Rapid Antigen Test kit, which is meant for single use, was shown to have tested 700 samples.
The report quoted an investigation official as saying that the addresses and names used for the tests were not real.
The official revealed that almost 530 samples are shown to have collected from ‘House Number 5’ in Haridwar.
The official questioned how was it possible for a house to have over 500 residents?
The official informed that bizarre addresses were used like House No 56 Aligarh, House No 76 Mumbai.
Also read: Over 5,000 test Covid19 positive at Kumbh Mela
The investigation official also claimed fake phone numbers were used for the tests.
Sam phone number was used for people from Kanpur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and at least 18 other places.
The report quoted health officer Dr Arjun Singh Sengar as saying that the private agency was supposed to submit the samples to two private labs and those laboratories are also under investigation.
Health secretary Amit Negi informed that the investigation report had been forwarded to the Haridwar district magistrate.
The report quoted Negi as saying that the department would take action after receiving a detailed report from the district magistrate within 15 days.
It was earlier reported that since April 1, 2021, when the Maha Kumbh Mela began till April 17, a total of 5,037 people tested Covid19 positive while 9 people died of infection.
After that several people including police personnel and devotees tested positive after return to their respective states and many of them have lost their lives due to Covid19.
According to a media report, till April 17, a total of 96 seers tested positive at Haridwar Kumbh Mela.