April 28, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 21, 1429

FAISALABAD, April 27: A potential rivalry between the Punjab Medical College (PMC) principal and some senior professors allegedly made medical superintendent (MS) of the Allied Hospital ‘scapegoat’ over the kidnapping of a newborn despite he held a clean chit after a departmental probe, Dawn learnt on Sunday.

Sources said that a baby boy born to Shamim Akhtar was kidnapped from the Outdoor Patient Department (OPD) of the Allied Hospital on April 23 and provincial health secretary, without conducting a probe or waiting for the outcome of any probe in the offing, suspended MS Dr Khalid Mehmood from service on April 24 for ‘dereliction of duty’ even though the boy had been recovered just a few hours after the abduction.

Not a single incumbent of the OPD or security employee, who could be considered or held immediate responsible for the incident, had been placed under suspension and what source called ‘isolated’ suspension of the MS had irked some senior members of the hospital and the situation was simmering in the PMC as well as in Allied Hospital.

Some doctors requesting anonymity told Dawn that Dr Khalid bore the brunt of a “rift” between PMC Principal Dr Asghar Ali Randhawa, who is also the head of Allied and District Headquarters (DHQ) hospitals, and some senior professors of the institute. The MS had been deprived of his powers and made scapegoat over a petty matter because of that ‘fissure’ alone, they added.

According to sources, Dr Khalid had been working like a “rubber-stamp” and performing the job of just a drawing and disbursing officer, instead of running the hospital affairs solely.

Sources said that a few months ago, Dr Randhawa decided to relocate various wards of the hospital to what he called “facilitate patients and medical staffers” and designated one of his close associates and an orthopaedic surgery professor, Ghulam Rasool Chaudhry, instead of the MS to carry out the relocation.

Dr Chaudhary had also issued the notification regarding the shifting of the wards, they said adding that because of this decision alone, patients as well as their attendants had been facing numerous problems even in tracing certain wards which had been renamed as surgical and medical units I, II and III.

Similarly, sources said, the PMC principal had recruited sweepers, trolley men, security guards, chair attendants, sanitary workers, ward boys and peons in the three institutions on his own instead of assigning this task to the MS allegedly on the ‘directives’ of the then PML-Q rulers. According to sources, juniors of the suspended MS used to dictate him for different tasks and it was all because of the principal who considered Dr Khalid his potential ‘rival’.

They further said Dr Randhawa just demonstrated his strength by ‘soliciting’ the suspension of Dr Khalid to show that he had sound connections with the new coalition government in the Punjab capital.

Rumours are rife in the PMC, Allied and DHQ hospitals that Dr Randhawa was being removed on charges of having good relations with the former ruling party, which had crowned him with the principalship even though he held “poor credentials”.

The PMC principal, sources said, was using most of the powers of the MS and used to take decision on his own and in the recent infant's kidnapping case, he held Dr Khalid responsible which resulted in the latter’s “uncalled for” suspension. Sources said that Mr Randhawa briefed the provincial government high-ups that being custodian of the hospital premises, the MS alone should be held responsible for this incident, which earned a bad name for the institution. They said that all it happened even though the inquiry committee constituted by the principal himself had exonerated Dr Khalid of the charges.

Health Secretary Anwar Ahmed told Dawn that suspension of Dr Khalid was “internal” matter of the department and the government was well aware that why the MS had been placed under suspension.

He declined to comment when he was asked why the MS alone was suspended instead of any other official concerned. However, he said that it was his discretion to suspend any official from service.

The infant was kidnapped when Majidan Bibi, grandmother of the child, handed him over to an unidentified man for fetching a slip from the counter for vaccination.

Dr Khalid told Dawn that he had nothing to do with the abduction of the baby and that the boy was recovered just a few hours after his kidnapping. He said the child’s grandmother and not any hospital official was responsible.

He said that unknown kidnapper used to visit the family and information gleaned by the inquiry committee revealed that he was seen a number of times with the infant's mother.

He refused to comment on as to why the principal had deprived him of his certain ‘administrative’ powers and later singled him out to procure his suspension.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Randhawa, however, dismissed the notion that he had differences with the suspended MS over any issue.

He was a soft-spoken, honest, and dedicated officer who rendered excellent services for Allied Hospital, the PMC principal said while describing the persona of Dr Khalid.

To a query about Dr Khalid’s suspension, he said this issue entirely related to the provincial government. However, he made it clear that Dr Khalid had nothing to do with this abduction and the inquiry report had also proved this fact.

In a similar incident, a newborn was abducted from the DHQ Hospital a couple of months ago who has not been recovered as yet. It may be pertinent to mention that none of the hospital employee or any other concerned was proceeded against departmentally in the still unsolved abduction.