Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on October 25 said the Centre should ensure that there is no "illegal activity" in the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

NEIGRIHMS has been embroiled in controversy following allegations by its director D M Thappa against the cardiology department head for not cooperating with the administration in making treatment of poor patients affordable. Thappa had also said complaints were received regarding the high price of heart stents availed from local vendors, instead of the AMRIT pharmacy at the institute. "As a concerned citizen and as the head of the state, if there is any kind of illegal activity that is going on (NEIGRIHMS), it must be enquired into by the government of India," Sangma told reporters.

He added that the state government does not have much say in the affairs of the central institute except to flag issues to the Union government. Earlier, the NEIGRIHMS director had sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a CBI inquiry into the alleged nexus between the cardiology department and a private pharmacy.

The Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) and the Civil Society Women's Organisation (CSWO) have also demanded a probe by the central investigating agency. In May, authorities at the institute had seized various cardiology stents, worth over Rs 20 lakh, from a vendor in the premises of the hospital.

The stents were allegedly sold at a higher price than the capped rate fixed by the ministry at Rs 30,000. The Cardiology department head, however, denied the allegations and claimed that the Amrit pharmacy had indicated about the non-availability of stents. NEIGRIHMS is the only super specialty hospital in the northeast region.