Gujar khan - A medical officer posted at the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) in Gujar Khan has been arrested by police in connection with the theft of an ECG machine from the hospital’s emergency department on Thursday.
The machine, valued at Rs. 200,000, was reported stolen during the early hours of December 8, and a case was registered with Gujar Khan police on December 13, after an internal probe by the hospital administration suspected a medical officer for stealing the equipment.
According to details, the hospital’s medical superintendent (MS), Dr. Sarmad Hussain Kiani, had lodged a formal complaint against an unidentified suspect with police after a four-member committee investigating the theft identified medical officer Dr. Muhammad Danish Niaz (BPS-17) as a suspect on December 12.
According to the findings of the probe committee, CCTV footage from the hospital showed Dr. Danish carrying a large, wrapped object, believed to be the stolen ECG machine, from the triage room to his car at 6:55 am on the morning of the theft. He was seen returning to the hospital five minutes later, without the object. Hospital staff also reported to the probe committee that Dr. Danish used to appear unusually “disoriented and drowsy” during his duty hours, the report added.
In the wake of the incident, three hospital staff members — including Dr. Danish, Dr. Jahanzeb Hamid, and charge nurse Sehrish Dilawar — were suspended on December 14 by the medical superintendent, and were directed to report to the office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the District Health Authority, Rawalpindi, till further orders. CEO Health, Dr. Asif Arbab Niazi, told The Nation that an inquiry under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline, and Accountability Act (PEEDA) of 2006 was initiated against the suspended officials, adding that charges against Dr. Jahanzeb and nurse Sehrish would be dropped after the real suspect has been arrested by the police. He added that the inquiry against Dr. Danish was underway parallel to the police investigations.
Meanwhile, MS of THQ Hospital Gujar Khan, Dr. Sarmad Kiani, said that he had instantly constituted a probe committee of the hospital after the ECG machine was reported missing and lodged a complaint with police after Dr. Danish refused to accept the findings of the probe. He said that the missing ECG machine was discovered in the hospital’s backyard a couple of days ago and handed over to the police. He said that CCTV evidence against Dr. Danish was also provided to the police, and he was arrested on Thursday. MS Kiani added that upon the findings of the probe committee that Dr. Danish remains “disoriented and drowsy” during duty hours, a request had been made to the higher authorities to hold his medical board in order to ascertain if he was addicted to drugs. The MS also recalled that, two years ago, a gas heater had been stolen from his office by the same medical officer and was returned.
Sources in police confirmed that medical officer Dr. Danish was arrested after thorough investigations under theft charges, and the ECG machine was also recovered along with its accessories. Provincial Minister for Primary and Secondary Health in Punjab, Khawaja Imran Nazir, during his visit to THQ Hospital Gujar Khan, had taken serious notice of stealing government property and had vowed to take strict action against those found guilty of the misconduct.
