Sunil Kumar Jain, who ran the one chemist store at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, for 29 years by way of a number of extensions and renewals, and at minimal lease as in comparison with market worth, was arrested by the UT vigilance division on Friday.

After approval from Chandigarh adviser-cum-chief vigilance officer Dharam Pal, Jain was booked below Sections 406 (breach of belief), 419 (dishonest by personation), 420 (dishonest) and 120-B (legal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. and Sections 13(1)b and (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in May.

During investigation, vigilance found that Jain obtained the lease for this store by way of fraudulent means and by offering false affidavits.

The store was allotted to Jain on lease for under two years by way of an public sale in 1993. Though the primary lease led to 1995, the hospital authorities by no means floated a recent tender and continued to increase the lease each 5 years, with the most recent extension occurring in 2019 – for as much as 2024.

In a curious flip of occasions, the doc pertaining to the granted extension mysteriously vanished, which can also be a part of the vigilance probe, together with figuring out officers who performed a component in facilitating the chemist.

For roughly 12 years, the shopkeeper illegally encroached upon authorities land belonging to the hospital by demolishing the partition wall.

On February 15, the administration reclaimed the occupied space and restored the general public passage as an alternative. However, UT’s makes an attempt to vacate and freshly lease out the store have remained unsuccessful with the chemist getting a keep from the Supreme Court in February.