Amritsar, May 6
In a sensational theft in the Civil Surgeons office here, which reportedly continued for three days, many important files pertaining to the post-mortem examination of militants and birth and death certificates were stolen.

The theft took place on May 3 when some unidentified persons decamped with several files pertaining to birth and death certificates of the years from 2001 to 2003 after breaking the lock of an almirah. Though the matter came to the notice of the higher authorities, no step was taken immediately. Complacency on the part of officials encouraged the culprits to make another attempt on May 4 in which 146 files pertaining to postmortem reports were taken away. The third theft occurred last night and more files were stolen.

Dr H.S. Gill, Civil Surgeon, admitted that the department would face problems in dealing with various court cases as the department had lost important files.

A two-member committee comprising Assistant Civil Surgeon, Dr Kanwaljit Singh and Dr Amrik Singh, district immunisation officer, will submit a report. Dr Gill said he had written to the authorities to shift the office to safer building.

Meanwhile, Mr Ravinder Kumar Sultanwind, president of the All-India Youth Federation, has demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. He said there was apprehension that there seemed to be a conspiracy to hamper investigation in terrorist-related cases.

Dr Gill hoped that the department would be able to trace the files. He said action would be taken against erring officials.

Earlier, an official Qualis belonging to the District Health Officer, Dr Sant Parkash Singh Dhillon, was stolen on April 30. The driver of the vehicle had been placed under suspension.