West Bengal health minister alleges "massive' Swasthya Sathi irregularities", puts 2.5-3 million cards under scanner

Kolkata, Oct 30 (UNI) West Bengal Health Minister Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee on Friday alleged "massive irregularities in the state's Swasthya Sathi" health scheme, claiming that verification had flagged around 2.5-3 million cards as fake, untraceable or otherwise suspect and that a forensic audit could reveal a much larger network of alleged fraud. Mukherjee said the discrepancies had emerged during an ongoing verification of Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries as the government prepares to facilitate their coverage under Ayushman Bharat and the state's Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana. Officials have been conducting door-to-door verification of beneficiary records, he said, adding that the exercise had…