In a shocking development, the assistant of a BJP MLA in the state of Karnataka has got arrested in Bengaluru in connection with the bed allocation scam that was first exposed by BJP Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya. The scam was allegedly unfolded with the involvement of officials and it had happened under the guise of allotting beds for the COVID-19 affected patients. 

According to reports, the Central Crime Branch police of Bengaluru had arrested Babu, a personal assistant of Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy, on Tuesday after the officials examined the CCTV footage of the War Room and the statements given by the staff members. The arrest was due to the alleged bed scam involving officials in charge of a COVID-19 war room of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The scam was first exposed by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on May 4 and after it came to light, it had sparked political tensions in the BJP ruling state. Surya had visited the South Zone War Room for inspection and after visiting the War Room, he had shockingly alleged that the hospitals in Bengaluru are blocking beds in fake names with the view of making money when the state has been reporting the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases. 

He claimed that the officials of the city's civic body have been collaborating with the private nursing homes and hospitals to block beds and reserve them for exorbitant fees when the patient needs a bed to get treated for the viral infection. Interestingly, Satish Reddy was one of the two MLAs who had accompanied Surya when he visited the War Room before alleging a scam in allotting the beds. 

Now, the assistant of Satish Reddy has got arrested for what Surya has exposed. As the allegations of scam over allotting the beds were heated up politics in Karnataka, the state government has directed an investigation into the allegations and the probe has led to detaining the assistant of a sitting MLA, promoting the demand from the opposition to initiate action against the MLA for his involvement in the scam. 

The reports say that the Bengaluru police have already arrested five people - Rohith, Nethravathi, Venkat Subba Rao, Manjunath, and Punith in connection with the case and Babu is the sixth one to get arrested. The probing officials had conducted searches in the War Room and secured technical data. The officials had also questioned the doctors of the war rooms concerning the scam. 

The Karnataka government has ordered the private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent of the beds for treating the COVID-19 patients. Bengaluru's civic body was assigned to allot beds for the Covid affected patients who are seeking treatments in private hospitals. However, in the wake of the exponential rise of cases, most of the beds are fully occupied amid surging demand for beds in hospitals.