LARKANA: The joint investi­gation team (JIT), which was probing charges against Dr Muzaffar Ghanghro that he had deliberately infected people with HIV in Ratodero, has exonerated him from ‘intentionally’ spreading the deadly virus in the town.

DIG Irfan Baloch, flanked by Qambar-Shahdadkot SSP Kamran Panjotha who headed the JIT, SSP Masood Bangah and ASP Mohammad Kaleem Malik, said at a press conference at the SSP office here on Wednesday that the investigation had not proved that Dr Ghanghro had intentionally spread the disease.

However, he said, the probe did establish that the doctor was one of the major sources for the virus’ spread. The JIT learnt after interviewing 145 HIV victims that 125 of them had received treatment at the doctor’s clinic, leading to the conclusion that he was a major source of spreading the HIV, he said.

Dr Ghanghro was arrested on April 30 after an FIR was registered against him under Section 324 on a complaint lodged by Abdul Sami, a member of Sindh Healthcare Commission. He was accused of multiple use of syringe at his private clinic.

Mr Baloch said the JIT which was also assisted by Dr Shahla Baqi, Dr Azizllah Dhillo and Dr Sunail Dodani was of the opinion that the doctor did not follow standard operating procedure for the use of syringes during his practice and did not ensure hygienic conditions on the premises of his clinic.

He said the JIT was of consensus opinion that reuse of syringe was the cause of eruption of HIV cases in general population. He quoted reports of Sindh AIDS Control Programme and said that so far 700 persons had been tested positive for HIV in blood screening exercise and of them 550 were children, almost 80 per cent of the cases.

He said in answer to a question that the doctor himself was unaware of his being infected with the HIV till he was diagnosed with the disease after his arrest in the wake of surfacing of huge cases of HIV positive in blood screening.

Asked if the JIT had investigated the ratio between intramuscular and intravenous use of syringe, the DIG said that it was not the focus of the JIT, there might be multiple factors for the spread the virus.

He said the doctor’s ‘mental state’ was sound and the JIT had not found any evidence of ‘revenge’ on his part in spreading the disease.

He said that a new FIR would be registered against the doctor under Section 322 in the light of JIT’s findings as the earlier FIR was lodged under Section 324.

He said that Larkana Commissioner had constituted a task force for action against the sleazy business of ‘repacking’ used syringes and selling them in the market. “We are probing it but have made no headway so far,” he admitted.

He said that crackdown against quacks would continue ruthlessly and expressed shock at the murder of an HIV positive woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in Dakhan town on Wednesday.

He termed it a ‘tragedy’ and said FIR against the culprit who happe­ned to be the woman’s husband had been registered and he had been picked up for interrogation. Two of his accomplices escaped arrest, he said.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2019