MULTAN, Feb 15: The provincial health authorities have allegedly swept under the carpet a proved case of bungling in the Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI) store in the cover of reprobe.

In Aug 2001, the EPI director reportedly pointed out appropriation in the distribution of disposable syringes and other consumable goods used for controlling various diseases in the store.

The authorities appointed a senior health department official Dr Anwaar Ahmad Bugvi to conduct a probe into the matter. The inquiry officer, after investigation, found former Punjab Health Services Director General (DG) Dr Muhammad Saeed Ahmad Qureshi and storekeeper Muhammad Taj Khan involved in embezzlement of Rs5.6 million of around 2.6 million disposable syringes. In his report, he pointed out irregularities in the distribution of cold chain equipment at the behest of former DGHS.

The officer found that the DGHS deviated from the established practice of the health department regarding the distribution of logistics to the filed offices in districts and divisions and got syringes and other items shifted to his office from the Medical Store Depot (MSD). The MSD storekeeper, he stated, fraudulently assumed the demand letters from the DGHS office as distribution plan and released the consignments.

Dr Qureshi, through a demand letter, directed the MSD to supply 28 vaccine carriers and 0.6 million 2ml syringes and 0.25 million 1ml syringes for what he termed ‘emergent’ during the polio day on Oct 11, 2000.

The fake demand letters (EPI/732, 733, 951, 62 and 255) were never initiated by the EPI’s directive. The DGHS and storekeeper kept the matter away from the EPI branch and neither involved its director nor routed the file through his branch to took him into confidence while indenting logistics from the MSD.

There was also no record as to who verified transport charges for consignments arrived at the provincial store of DGHS office from the MSD.

The exercise was reportedly done through what was claimed to be a letter from the federal cell of the Unicef which ordered the MSD to work as a warehouse of the DGHS office for the EPI supplies. The inquiry officer observed the Unicef’s letter with the important decision was neither found in DGHS office nor at the EPI Directorate.

Dr Bugvi submitted his report on Aug 23, 2001, to the provincial health secretary while the matter was hushed up. A source in the health department told Dawn that long after Dr Bugvi’s inquiry into the exercise, an official snubbed him saying, ‘keep your mouth shut, you have done your job.’

The fraud was later brought to light in the press. The health secretary constituted three-member committee headed by Services Hospital Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Riaz Chaudhry to reprobe. The secretary announced that the committee would carry out the task day-to-day.

Current DGHS Dr Yaqoob Jaffar claimed the culprits would be dealt with iron fist, saying he had written to those concerned to institute a criminal case against the storekeeper.

However, the committee had so far neither completed the probe nor had the case been registered.

When contacted, Dr Jaffar said he knew little about the development in the reprobe.