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Friday March 29, 2024

Drug inspector ‘notorious for blackmailing’ faces departmental action

By M. Waqar Bhatti
December 26, 2018

The Sindh health department has initiated proceedings to terminate a drug inspector from service, who is allegedly involved in blackmailing pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies, and collecting extortion money, The News has learnt.

Drug Inspector Khursheed Shaikh has been suspended a total of four times during his service. The health department has now issued him a show-cause notice to submit an explanation over allegations of blackmailing, extortion, misuse of authority and other offences leveled against him.

According to officials of the health department, letters are also being written to the Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to initiate proceedings against the notorious drug inspector. Shaikh had become a “serious problem” for health authorities and the department would send evidence against him to ACE and FIA, officials claimed.

Federal and provincial drug inspectors are often accused of misusing their authority to extort money from pharmaceutical companies and medical stores as they have powers to seal drug manufacturing units and pharmacies. Most of the time, pharmaceutical firms and pharmacy owners prefer to bribe such drug inspectors to keep their businesses running.

According to a notification issued by Additional Chief Secretary Health Dr Muhammad Usman Chachar, services of Shaikh have been put under suspension and he has been directed to immediately report to the health department.

It is the second time that the said drug inspector has been suspended within two months. He was suspended last month by the health department for demanding two buffaloes from the owners of a cattle pen, health department officials said.

“The drug inspector has been suspended on several occasions on complaints of corruption, extortion and misuse of authority but he always used political connections to get himself restored. On this occasion, legal proceedings have been issued against him so that he could be terminated from service due to credible evidence against him”, an official of the Sindh health department said.

The official claimed that this time, several pharmaceutical companies, including some reputed ones, have accused the drug inspector of blackmailing them and also produced his letters written to them as evidence. He added that Shaikh allegedly sought such details from the firms, which were beyond his jurisdiction. The drug inspector even wrote threatening letters to importers and distributors in order to blackmail them, the official maintained.

The show-cause notice issued to Shaikh has been based on a complaint lodged by Chief Drug Inspector Adnan Rizvi against him. Rizvi reported that Shaikh was involved in “unnecessary harassment” and he used to write unlawful letters to the pharmaceutical companies and distributors for the purpose of blackmailing. The notice has also deprived Shaikh of the right to an enquiry. The drug inspector has been asked to explain his position on the allegations within seven days.