KARACHI, Dec 7: A three-member inquiry committee of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, has observed that under the administrative control of additional police surgeon, the Medico-legal Centre of JPMC, instead of facilitating and assisting the process of justice to aggrieved people, is causing more sufferings to people and bringing bad name to the provincial health department.

The committee, comprising Capt Dr Farhat H. Mirza, Associate Professor, DUHS; Dr Safdar Awan, Additional Medical Superintendent, CHK; and Dr Ali Nawaz Khoso, former police surgeon, Karachi; had initiated the inquiry on the complaint of Dr Aquil S. Khandwala, who was allegedly manhandled by Dr Zulfiqar Siyal, Additional Police Surgeon, JPMC, in the presence of hospital staff a few months back.

In its conclusion, the inquiry report observed that the medico-legal reports did not meet the required quality and were also unnecessarily delayed due to the additional police surgeon’s mala fide intentions.

The additional police surgeon has no intention or will and he does not even take responsibility to redress the genuine public grievances in his capacity as APS, JPMC. As a result, affected people find themselves helpless, the inquiry report observed, and maintained that Dr Siyal had proved that he did not possess the capability of getting work done by his subordinate MLOs and other staff.

“The positive efforts of the health department for improving and upgrading the medico-legal department are being negated by the negligent attitude of the officers like Dr Siyal,” the report stated.

In its recommendations, the committee was of unanimous opinion that Dr Zulfiquar Ali Siyal may immediately be relieved of his responsibilities as additional police surgeon, Medico-legal Centre, JPMC. The committee also recommended strict disciplinary action against him, and said he may never be given any independent administrative post in future.

However, when Dawn contacted Dr Zulfiquar Ali Siyal for comments, he said that the inquiry had been carried out in a biased manner and with mala fide intention to get him removed from his post. He accused Dr Aquil Khandwala of being a known corrupt officer of the health department.

Dr Siyal recalled that two inquiry committees had earlier cleared him of all charges. “When they failed to victimise me through the two inquiries, they got a third one instituted which technically is not legal,” Dr Siyal maintained, adding:

“There is not a single public complaint or grievance against me… during the cross examination, three doctors did not appear and the doctors who had appeared before the committee did not give any evidence against me.”

He further stated that the health department had set a six-point agenda for the inquiry but the agenda had never been followed. “This shows that the inquiry was driven on personal grounds,” he maintained.