A special anti-corruption court in Uttar Pradesh has sentenced a nurse and a sweeper for a year in prison for embezzling Rs 11 during a sterilisation camp in 1989.
The trial of the case itself went on for 26 years during which, three of other accused in the "sterilisation racket" died.
According to a Times of India report, the case was investigated for 26 years and there were 185 hearing after that the special anti-corruption judge in Meerut finally sentenced the surviving of two hospital staff - a nurse and a sweeper, a year in prison and a fined Rs 100 for 'embezzling' Rs 11.
In 1989, the government hospital in the Etah district conducted a sterilisation drive and it presented a report to the government that in total 4,600 men and women were covered under the programme.
As part of the initiative, the government was giving each staff Rs 181 as incentive per person sterilised, from which Rs 135 was for the person sterilised, Rs 40 for those who encouraged the person, Rs 4 for the surgeon and Rs 2 was to be divided equally between the health department nurse and sweeper.
The trouble began, when on 1 March , 1990 the then MLA of Kasganj alleged that the hospital had registered fake figures and had misappropriated the government money.
After the allegation, the Agra vigilance department began an investigation into the matter and found out after seven years that in one camp, 11 of the 12 people claimed to have been sterlised were fake.
Based on this, the Etah police filed an FIR on 24 February, 1996 against five of the hospital employees - Avadh Bihari Agrawal (the then CMO of Etah), Mohanlal (lekhpal), Harish Chand (accountant), Noorjahan (nurse) and Shobharam (sweeper).
