India, April 9 -- A three-member high-level committee has begun probing alleged financial irregularities involving over Rs.1.24 crore at the Regional Mental Hospital (RMH), Yerawada, officials said on Wednesday.

The panel visited the hospital on Monday and initiated scrutiny of contracts for various works and services, payments to contractors, government funds received, and their utilisation between 2017 and 2025.

Constituted on February 17 following a preliminary inquiry that flagged serious financial lapses and suspected misappropriation, the committee is headed by Kailas Salunkhe, deputy secretary in the public health department at Mantralaya. Dr Rajratna Waghmare, joint director of health services (leprosy and tuberculosis), is a me...