Another PIMS storekeeper suspended

The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Sunday suspended another medical storekeeper, after the findings of preliminary inquiry committee, which pointed out that storekeeper Zia-ud-Din had embezzled medicines worth Rs 0.4 million on the vouchers of fake indent book during the last couple of days.
The preliminary inquiry committee comprising Professor Dr Asad Riaz Katchlu, Dr Robina Kamran, and Pharmacist Shafqat Abbas suggested that a regular inquiry should be held against the storekeeper, and he should be dismissed from service forthwith.
The committee also proposed that the storekeeper should be handed over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for further investigation and the recovery of million of rupees which he had been embezzling for the last 18 years.
According to PIMS sources, the storekeeper has allegedly been involved in a large scale pilferage of medicines and surgical equipment, and owned assets more than Rs 20 million. In past, several inquiries held against him, however, hushed up due to his influence.
According to investigation carried out by this agency on the complaints and detection of huge pilferage of drugs and surgical items from PIMS pharmacies and stores, Chief Pharmacist A.Q Javed Iqbal had suggested that the administration should computerise the entire store record to curb the pilferage.
However, despite preliminary computerisation, there were complaints that some storekeepers were pilfering costly drugs. Thus, A.Q Javed Iqbal assigned his trainee pharmacist Ms Naoko Hazama from Jica to be vigilant and detect the pilferage.
Some days ago, Ms Naoko informed the chief pharmacist that medical storekeeper Ziauddin had issued medicines worth about 0.4 million to the hospital wards on fake vouchers of indent book, whereas, in fact, the medicines had been sold out in the market.
When the storekeeper was produced before the inquiry committee, he confessed his guilt and admitted that he had been involved in pilferage from 1986.
It is being said that the involvement of Ms Gul-e-Nargis, in-charge pharmacist of main medical stores, in drugs pilferage could not be ruled out. As she has been active in protecting the corrupt storekeepers in past.
It is pertinent to mention here that on June 21 this year, three storekeepers and a ward boy of PIMS main pharmacy were dismissed from service, after they were caught red-handed, while stealing costly medicines. Their irregularities were surfaced in the wake of a surprised raid conducted by then deputy executive director of Pims, Dr Jehanzeb Orakzai.
When contacted PIMS deputy Executive Director Dr Amjad Mahmood, he affirmed that the accused storekeeper has confessed his guilt, and he has been suspended. He also affirmed that the scorekeeper had embezzled medicines of about Rs 0.4 million on fake vouchers during the last couple of days.