FAISALABAD: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has asked the health minister to launch a probe into the dysfunctional security cameras of the Faisalabad Medical University (FMU).

Sources allege that the security of the university is vulnerable due to its out-of-order CCTV cameras and the administration is not focusing on the issue to get all the dysfunctional cameras repaired immediately.

The condition of the cameras was revealed a couple of days ago when doctors approached the security department to get the CCTV footage to see the thieves who had stolen the car of Dr Rashid near a bank branch established inside the university in front of its examination hall.

PMA secretary Dr Muhammad Irfan, an assistant professor of medicine, said that in a recent meeting of the association, the office-bearers had expressed their serious concern over the poor security arrangements on the university premises. He said it was a big concern that the safety of students, staff and the university property was at stake.

“We appeal to the chief minister and the health minister to launch a probe to find out why the cameras are not working,” Dr Irfan made the demand.

Sources said that despite spending the huge public money, the security of the students, staff and the public property was not being ensured as one could not detect any sort of illegal activity on the university premises. They said a number of doctors had parked their vehicles at the site from where the vehicle of Dr Rashid had been stolen on Jan 13. The new company took charge of the security on the same day.

Giving the causes of the CCTV cameras issue, the sources said the university was without any sort of security as the administration had scrapped the contract of the security company in April last year, following its poor performance and inefficiency. This company had been protecting the five state-run institutions – the FMU, the Allied Hospital, the DHQ Hospital, the General Hospital and the College of Nursing – and all these institutions were without any security.

The security of these institutions was given to the Zulfiqar Security Company, a private company that was also fined a couple of months ago by the medical superintendent of the Allied Hospital for not protecting the doctors when they were being allegedly thrashed by attendants of the patients. Besides, many incidents of manhandling of attendants or even patients by security guards over minor issues made the doctors to discharge the patients from the hospitals even without giving any kind of treatment.

A probe had also been carried out against a guard of the company on charges of harassment and misbehaviour with a woman doctor.

A Young Doctors Association office-bearer, said the guard at the Medical Unit-2 of Allied Hospital had humiliated and harassed the woman doctor. The guard followed her and asked for the contact number of the lady doctor and when she rebuked him, the suspect threatened and misbehaved with her. Later, the contract of the company was scrapped.

About a week ago, the new security company had taken over the charge of the university security and car was stolen allegedly even in the presence of the guards. Sources said the university officials had no visual proof to provide to the police to show how thieves had entered the university and managed to escape with the car of a doctor.

Civil Lines police registered a case on complaint of Dr Rashid; however, no headway had been made in his case so far.

FMU Vice Chancellor Dr Zafar Ali was contacted with a query that why all cameras were lying dysfunctional and when it would be repaired. He did not turn up for reply.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2020