DHQ MS signs `shady bills` of three tainted firms.

BAHAWALNAGAR -- Taking a U-turn against his own report, the medical superintendent (MS) of the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Bahawalnagar has released pending payments of more than Rs20m to three companies, which he had earlier stopped claiming that the bills had fabricated signatures of former MS and the cases were pending against the owners of the companies with the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).

According to sources, the former accountant of the DHO office, Saeed Akhtar, who was held for 15 months by the ACE after corruption worth millions was allegedly proven against him, was restored as junior accountant without any departmental inquiry. Sources alleged that after his reappointment, Mr Akhtar, with the help of chief executive officer (CEO) of the District Health Authority(DHA) and other officials of the health department, allegedly struck `a deal` with the officers to ensure the release of pending payments to his brother`s three firms.

His brother, Rizwan Saeed, a health authority vendor, had also spent 13 months in prison on charges of corruption and the ACE officials recovered Rs1 from him during investigation. He would get payments for three firms, including Rs6.8m for Chaudhry Traders, Rs9.8m for Abdullah Traders and Rs11.2m to RA Traders.

The sources alleged that for the release of payment, the DHA CEO, on April 24, had constituted a committee under DHO Waheed Afsar Bajwa that included four junior of ficers and tasked it to declare the bills genuine. The sources said the committee declared the bills worth Rs6.8m of the Chaudhry Traders genuine and sent the documents for final signatures to DHQ HospitalMSDrInamulHaqJamali who, after inspection, declared the bills fake and rejected them.

In a report (a copy available with Dawn)sent to Primary and Secondary Health Secretary, Bahawalnagar Deputy Commissioner and other officials on May 5, the DHQ MS alleged that cases were pending against RA Traders, Abdullah Traders andChaudhry Traders, being run by accountant Saeed Akhtar, with the ACE. He said pending bills of the Chaudhry Traders were fake and their record was not present in the hospital. The report also said that all the paperwork pertaining to the bills of these firms were bogus and the signatures of former MS on these documents were also fabricated.

Two FIRs, copies available with Dawn, were lodged with the ACE over fake billing worth millions against Abdullah Traders and RA Traders. However, the MS after raising...

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