After CHK, JPMC’s records also sought by ACE

Karachi
Following a raid at the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) only last week, officials of the Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), on Monday asked Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s (JMPC) Executive Director Dr Anisuddin Bhatti to hand over the facility’s financial records.
Through an official letter, procurements made in 2014-15, cashbooks, bills, receipts, stock registers and other relevant documents were among several demanded to be handed over to the agency.
Dr Bhatti was also directed to ask the hospital’s head clerk, accountant and the medical store’s in-charge to appear before the ACE and get their statements recorded.
Sources in the provincial government said the provincial investigative agency, after having acquired the approval of the competent authority, was acting on complaints of corruption filed with it; it has launched separate probes against the administrations of both the CHK and the JPMC.
JPMC Deputy Director Dr Javed Jamali also confirmed of a letter being sent to the JPMC’s administration, however, he called it a matter of routine, adding that “such letters were being written to health institutions all over the province.”
“All the procurements are done by the Singh government’s Central Purchase Department, we don’t purchase any drugs or medicines, however, we do maintain a record,” Dr Jamali maintained. He assured of sharing the documents with the authorities.
He claimed that Dr Bhatti and the JPMC’s administration had recently assumed charge and could not be blamed for what had occurred in the past.
The ACE was the second investigative agency to be looking into alleged embezzlements and corruption at the JPMC after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had raided the administrative offices of the health facility last month, besides also taking into custody several important documents and records, specially related to procurements and appointments of post-graduate trainees.
The CHK and the JPMC were among the two largest public sector medical facilities, however, complaints regarding administrative mismanagement and financial corruptions at the hospitals had time and again surfaced.
In the CHK raid, a 12-member team headed by ACE Deputy Director Tariq Qureshi and judicial magistrate Syed Nadeem Jaffri had gone through the administration block and pharmacy among other sections of the hospital and seized procurement records of medical supplies, dating back to at least five years, as well as Zakat fund.
CHK acting medical superintendent Dr Abdul Qadir while confirming the raid had said all records asked for by the officials were handed over.