VEHARI, Oct 12: The dust of five medicine theft cases at the DHQ hospital is still to settle as yet another incident has come to the fore.

Sources told Dawn that about one year ago unidentified people stole costly equipment from the hospital laboratory but the administration did not lodge any complaint or FIR with the police station concerned.

Medical Superintendent Dr Nasir Dilshad said the hospital administration had received the price of the stolen machine from the employee who was on duty at that time so there was no need to play up the issue.

An insider, however, denied recovery of the equipment price and confirmed that the administration had yet to make any serious effort to trace the culprit.

A doctor of the hospital told this correspondent on the condition of anonymity that the machine was used in blood tests and provided by the health ministry about six years ago and at that time it cost Rs50,000. Now its price must be much more.

He said at least five medicine theft incidents took place after the equipment theft and only the administration was to be blamed for negligence.

Meanwhile, the inquiry into the recent theft of a stock of donated medicines is going on.

Danywal police station SHO Chaudhry Abdul Karim said most of the stolen medicines had been recovered from four medical stores in the city, two of those near the DHQ hospital. He said the physical remand of the mastermind — a former hospital employee who now practices at a private clinic — had been extended.

Accused Sajid told Dawn that he had led the police to the recovery of the medicines which he had sold to the medical stores and kept at his clinic in Thingi Colony. He said the police initially arrested some medical store owners on suspicion of their involvement in the case but immediately let them off the hook on the intervention of some influential figures.

Dr Ghulam Husain Asif of the DHQ hospital said the police had kept the stock of medicines in possession and they would ask the hospital staff to identify the stolen medicines.

When contacted, DCO Babar Hassan Bharwana said the inquiry would be completed in the next few days and DO (Revenue) Javed Akhtar Mahmood had been asked to look into the matter. He said the district administration would take strict action against the culprits.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered on the complaint of the eye ward incharge.