SUKKUR, June 25: Employees at the drug inspector office of Sukkur division are issuing fake licences to owners of medial stores and wholesalers of drugs after taking huge amounts of money in bribe, according to an official report prepared by an inquiry committee.

The committee formed by the chief drug inspector of Sindh to probe growing complaints about the scam recommended departmental action against the corrupt officials and ban on their posting in the office of drug inspector for at least three years.

Mohammad Idris Shaikh, head of the committee along with Ghulam Akbar Qazi and Shah Jahan (members), paid surprise visits to medical stores which had been issued drug licences in Sukkur, Rohri, Pano Akil, Ghotki, Daharki, Mirpur Mathelo, Ubauro, Salehpat and other towns and found most of the licences unauthentic.

They found that many owners of medical stores had licences with photos of persons other than the owners and the record of the licence was mostly not available with the office of drug inspector.

The inquiry discovered that since Jan 2, 2010 to date not a single licence had been issued to anybody and no challan fee for the licence had been deposited in the National Bank.

It found various irregularities and illegal means which the corrupt officials used to regularise unauthentic and fake licences and discovered that academic documents of holders of BPharmacy degree were used to issue fake drug licences.

The owners of medical stores in Madni Street and Barrage Road in Sukkur, Lakhi Ram and Bhoj Ram, said in their statement recorded before the committee that they had not obtained any licence. Someone had used their photographs and names to get the document, they said.

The inquiry report submitted to the chief secretary of Sindh, chief drug inspector of Sindh, executive health officer of Sukkur, Sukkur office of federal ombudsman and other officers concerned concluded that the officials posted in the office of divisional drug inspector, especially peons, were involved in the scam.

The report said the peons were asked to appear before the committee but they did not come and recommended that they be transferred to some other department for at least three years and the drug licences issued by the district health office be treated as unauthentic.

After receiving the report on June 6, the health department has appeared to have moved into action against the officials involved in the scam but the department’s past record showed such inquiries had never come to fruition because the corrupt enjoyed backing of influential political persons.

Sources in the department said the employees charged between Rs20,000 and Rs30,000 for a fake licence and mostly low-ranking employees, including peons, were involved in the scam who were protected from any departmental action.

The sources said the drug inspectors received heavy amounts of bribe from owners of medical stores who enjoyed backing of influential political persons.