The King George’s Medical University (KGMU) administration on Tuesday removed the head of its urology department, suspended a pharmacist and terminated three outsourced employees after an inquiry confirmed serious irregularities in the purchase of medicines under the Asadhya Yojana.
The university has also initiated the process of recovering the allegedly misappropriated funds from the outsourcing agency concerned and lodged a police complaint seeking criminal proceedings against the accused employees.
KGMU spokesperson Dr KK Singh said urology department head Dr Apul Goel was removed from his administrative position on grounds of negligence in monitoring the scheme and overseeing departmental functioning. He has been relieved of his responsibilities as head of the department, and sent to another department pending further investigation to ensure an impartial probe.
Dr HS Pahwa of the department of general surgery has been appointed acting head of the urology department, he said.
The administration also terminated three outsourced employees identified as P Singh, H Srivastava and S Tiwari, for their alleged involvement in the scam. A police complaint has been filed against them, Dr Singh added.
Arshad Wasi, a regular pharmacist posted at the local purchase counter of the urology department, has been placed under suspension. The university has also sought criminal proceedings against him.
According to KGMU officials, the urology department had been procuring medicines worth around ₹10 lakh every month under the Asadhya Yojana, which provides free treatment to economically weaker patients suffering from serious illnesses. However, expenditure under the scheme witnessed an unusual spike earlier this year, rising three to four times above the normal level.
Officials said medicine purchases touched nearly ₹45 lakh last month alone, raising suspicion within the university administration. Scrutiny of records allegedly revealed repeated procurement of expensive medicines, including cancer drugs, protein supplements and iron supplements, in the names of nearly 40 patients.
The investigation found that these patients had been shown as admitted multiple times in official records, raising concerns over fraudulent procurement and misuse of government funds.
Following the detection of irregularities, vice-chancellor Dr Soniya Nityanand constituted a five-member inquiry committee. The panel submitted its report on Monday, following which action was initiated against those found responsible.
KGMU authorities said further action would be taken based on the outcome of the ongoing investigation and efforts were underway to recover the financial losses allegedly caused to the institution.
