KHANEWAL-The Khanewal Saddr Police, on a tip-off, carried out a successful raid and seized a container laden with medicines meant for government hospital worth millions of rupees. The raid was conducted on a private house where the container, laden with 738 cartons full of medicines, was being unloaded at private house. According to sources, the police got a tip-off that government medicines are being illegally unloaded from a container in a private house. Acting swiftly, the police raided the house and took the container into custody.
In the meanwhile, Khanewal AC Zainul Abdein arrived at the spot where the contractor and suppliers of the medicines informed him that the container had come from Lahore as they have a medicines supply contract across Punjab. They claimed that they are permitted to keep the medicines anywhere at the place of their convenience. Upon which, the AC stopped the police from taking any action and let the contractor unload the medicines in DHQ Hospital Khanewal.
When this news came into the notice of media, the assistant commissioner powered off his cellphone.
Wednesday morning, the contractor changed his version as in the night he had said that he will supply the medicines to BHUs in district on demand and produced a letter in this regard. In the morning, however, the contractor produced a changed letter and said that these medicines are meant for supply to rural health centres (RHCs).
In the meanwhile, medicines experts opined that temperature of the container is more than 45 degree Celsius and there is no proper arrangement in this private house to keep these medicines safe. “So after all this illegal process and alleged theft, when the remaining medicines are supplied to govt hospitals will be of no use,” they feared.
On the other hand, the district government also changed its decision and District Health Authority CEO Dr Maria Mumtaz, DHQ Hospital MS Dr Zahid and AC Zainul Abdein once again came to the spot and took samples from the medicines in question.
Sources regretted that whatever fate of the medicines is decided, it will the public exchequer that would have to bear the loss, asking all the relevant officers to protect public interest.