Pilferage of medicines worth Tk 1 cr from Satkhira Civil Surgeon's store detected

Storekeeper Shahnewaz Khan in connivance with other officials misappropriated the medicines from the store.

This was revealed through an investigation conducted by the BAC. Discrepancies in accounts of four years' issue registers of Satkhira Civil Surgeon's (CS) office and seven Upazila Health Complexes were detected by the investigation.

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Inspector of the BAC, Wazed Ali Gazi investigated the matter after leakage of stories on medicine pilferage.

According to CS office sources, various kinds of medicine were supplied to Satkhira Medicine Store from Dhaka Central Drug Store, Khulna Medical Sub-Depot and Bogra EDCL.

The store keeper of Satkhira Medicine Store received at least 3,01,000 Amoxicillin (250 mg) capsules from Bogra EDCL in 2000-'01 financial year.

From the lot, 1,57,000 capsules were supplied to seven upazila health complexes and the rest 1,44,000 capsules worth Tk 3,02,400 were misappropriated.

In the same financial year, 1,70,000 Cloxicillin (500 mg) capsules were also supplied to Satkhira store. Out of it only 28,000 capsules were distributed and the rest 1,42,000 capsules amounting to Tk 4,89,900 were defalcated by selling those in black markets.

Meanwhile, Amoxiciline (250 mg) capsules amounting to Tk 1,51,200 and Cloxicillin (500 mg) capsules amounting to Tk 7,77,995 were stolen from the store during 2001-'02 period.

Discrepancy in account of Amoxicillin (250 mg), Cloxicillin (500 mg) and Tetracycline capsules worth Tk 20 lakh were found in an audit of the financial year 2002-'03. Besides Amoxicillin (250 mg) capsules worth Tk 2,85,000 and Cloxicillin (500 mg) worth Tk 6,36,525 were also defalcated from the store in 2003-'04 financial year.

Satkhira store also received medicine worth over Tk 50 lakh from government stores and non-governmental organisations to distribute among flood-affected people in 2000. Most of it was sold in black markets.

X-ray films amounting to several lakhs of taka were also defalcated by selling those in black markets.