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Sunday,
August 10, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Doctors’
collusion in sale of spurious medicines alleged Advanced
Study Institute may not be dislocated Students
threaten stir Brother
held for Shashi Gupta’s murder
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| Bus
accident toll rises to 11 Shimla, August 9 The death toll in yesterday’s bus accident at Khaneri near Rampur rose to 11 as two more persons succumbed to injuries in the IGMC Hospital, here today. Govt
constitutes rights panel Bank dacoity suspects arrested
3 hurt in mishap Block
samiti chief removed from post
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Doctors’ collusion in sale of spurious medicines alleged Palampur, August 9 Three years ago a DSP and an SDM, on public complaints had stopped the sale of substandard medicines. But again the sale of such medicines has been flourishing in the town. Six medical officers allegedly in connivance with certain medical representatives and owners of companies are involved in the sale of spurious medicines. At a news conference head of a social organisation, Save Palampur, Neelam Sood said yesterday a poor patient came to her and handed over a bottle of tonic along with medical prescription of a doctor posted in the local civil hospital, the bottle allegedly had insects and fungus-like matter. The medicine HI-PROTEIN, was manufactured in October 2002. Its expiry date was February 2004. Following this the Save Palampur talked to chemists in the town, who admitted the sale of substandard medicines adding that medical officers in the local civil hospital had been prescribing non-standard medicines and chemists had to sell these. A chemist said that Cephalexin-IP 500 mg of the standard company (Alembic) was priced at Rs 110 (20 capsule) but the same medicine of substandard quality sells at Rs 130 for (10 capsules). The price of substandard medicines is almost double. He alleged that for prescribing substandard medicines a medical officer gets commission and other luxury items at the expense of patients. Also the price of 10 capsules of Omez manufactured by Dr Reddy’s is Rs 37.87 but substandard medicine with the same salt sells for Rs 45. A chemist said that sale of standard companies medicines had fallen as these did not bribe the doctors. It was noticed that tablet of Levamisole-HCL made by Johnson and Johnson carries price Rs 6.85, but a same salt of substandard company prescribed by a local medical officer carries MRP Rs 12.80. Over 100 brands of substandard companies are being sold in the market. A chemist disclosed that many doctors posted in the civil hospital alleged to have been getting commission between Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per month on the sales of these medicines. Many medical officers also allegedly get money on surgical operations, tests and ultrasound scanning etc. It is also alleged that in case of a surgery in the hospital patients are asked to buy medicines. Half of the medicines left unused after the surgery are disposed off. Patients told this reporter that many times they had to make efforts to get life-saving drugs at odd hours. Hospital store does not have these medicines. Local administration, social organisations like the Red Cross, Rotary and Bharat Vikash Parishad etc have become silent spectators to such deals. Political interference in the posting of medical officers and paramedical staff has made the matters worse. |
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Advanced
Study Institute may not be dislocated Shimla, August 9 The institute has been facing an uncertain future ever since the Supreme Court ordered the government to vacate the heritage complex by December 2003 and hand over the building to the Archaeological Survey of India for maintenance. As the order of the apex court came after the Union Cabinet had taken a decision to retain the institute in its present habitat, the government, after seeking legal opinion, is considering legislative measures to ensure that it is not uprooted. One of the options being considered is to amend the National Monuments Act to empower the government to put the protected monuments to whatever use it deems fit. It will no doubt serve the purpose, but political parties may not agree to support an amendment of such a general nature and it could lead to controversy. The other alternative is to bring a specific legislation to pave way for the continuation of the institute on the premises without touching any of the existing Acts governing the protected monuments. Since both the BJP and the Congress are keen to see the institute continue and flourish in the majestic complex gifted by our former philosopher President, Dr S. Radhakrishan, there will be no room for disagreement. A final view is likely to emerge after the visit of Mr Jagmohan, Union Minister for Tourism, Art and Culture, to the institute next month. He informed Mr Maheshwar Singh and Dr D.R. Shandil, members of the Lok Sabha from the state who met him last week to plead the case for the continuation of the institute in the Viceregal Lodge complex, about his proposed visit. Mr Maheshwar Singh also met Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, in this regard. Dr Joshi assured him that the decision of the Union Cabinet to retain the institute in the Rashtrapati Niwas would be respected. Eminent scholars, intellectuals, fellows and employees of institute have sought the intervention of all who matter. |
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Students
threaten stir Kangra, August 9 The protesting students told mediapersons that the students had been falsely implicated and an FIR registered against them by the Principal of the college, Dr D.K. Gosh. The students alleged harassment by the Principal and said that no student had ever damaged the property of the college. The district police chief, Mr S. Zahoor H. Zahoor, confirmed that a case under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage of the Public Property Act had been registered in the Kangra police station and an investigation was in progress. He, however, said none of the four students mentioned in the FIR had been arrested so far. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and the Health Minister Ms Chandresh Kumari, the students blamed the Principal for jeopardising the future of 200 students of the college alleging that he had not been able to improve the condition of different departments before an MCI inspection, this year, in which 48 objections were raised. The students said 31 students of the first year and four from the second year had been put under conduct provisions by the Principal for allegedly entering the girls hostel. They also alleged that the present internal batch of students had been asked to vacate the hostel in the Tanda complex, but not been provided any accommodation at
Dharamsala. Dr D.K. Gosh was not available for his comments on the issue. |
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Brother
held for Shashi Gupta’s murder Solan, August 9 The couple were arrested yesterday after they had allegedly confessed to the crime. Pawan is the brother of Shashi Gupta. According to sources in the CID, Shashi Gupta had recently declared her intention of getting married. This appeared to have hastened her end as it lead Pawan to suspect that she might replace him as her nominee in her GP Fund and gratuity accounts with the Education Department, as well as in the fixed deposit account of Rs 1.10 lakh in the Baghat Urban Cooperative Bank. Incidentally, this also proved to be the crucial lead for the investigating team. Pawan Kumar had no steady income and was perceived to be always in financial straits most of the times. Shashi Gupta (44) was an office assistant posted at the Government Senior Secondary School, Oachghat, 10 km from here. Her highly decomposed body was recovered from a trunk in her flat in the local Bawri Mohalla, on July 17. Pawan Kumar, the brother of the deceased, shared his ancestral house with his two sisters, Shashi and Neelam. As Shashi was unmarried, she had named Pawan as her nominee in the documents. The receipt of the fixed deposit was recovered along with gold jewellery worth about Rs 30,000 by the investigating team of the district police from the deceased’s room on July 21. The case was transferred to the CID a week ago. Pawan had allegedly confessed to having murdered Shashi by strangulating her. After seeing blood oozing out from her nostrils and ears, he wrapped her head in a polythene bag and tied it with a soft metal string. |
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Team leaves to retrieve jawan’s remains Shimla, August 9 Members of a trekking expedition sent by the institute had come across the remains of the soldier, last week. Col H.S. Chauhan, Director of the institute, is accompanying the team to provide technical guidance. The team includes mountaineers, porters and helpers. The team will take about four days to cover a distance of 125 km to reach the site. Mr Randhir Saluria, Deputy Director of the institute, said the team would set up its base camp at Batal for acclimatisation and would try to locate more bodies. Mr Saluria was part of expedition which discovered the remains. |
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Bus accident toll rises to 11 Shimla, August 9 Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who visited the accident site and also met the injured persons in the hospitals at Rampur and Shimla, announced immediate relief of Rs 5,000 to each of 14 injured persons and directed the hospital authorities to provide best possible facilities to them.
— PTI |
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Govt constitutes
rights panel Shimla, August 9 Himachal was one of the few states to set up a human rights commission. However, the Dhumal government had scrapped it members were not pulling on well. The members had also been demanding facilities on a par with judges of the high court. The Congress had maintained that the commission was scrapped illegally. As it did not find it feasible to revive the commission, it decided to constitute a new one. |
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Bank dacoity suspects arrested Una, August 9 A revolver like that used in the Basal bank dacoity was seized from the car along with Rs 50,000 cash, some gold dust, a bank passbook, two hockey sticks, iron rods and some number plates. The car was registered in the name of Chandra Shekhar of Nawanshahr. One of the occupants — Kala, alias Bhupinder of Pakhowal village, Hoshiarpur district — was a proclaimed offender wanted by the Hoshiarpur police in a number of opium cases. Other occupants of the car were identified as Vijay Kumar of Bathu village in Santoshgarh and Payare Lal of Jonkour village of Una district. |
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3 hurt in mishap Parwanoo, August 9 The tractor-trailer was coming down from the temple side on the main road of Sector-6. The driver lost control. The vehicle hit a cow and then crashed against a back wall of house No. (HIG-B-1), Block No. 53 and fell about 10 feet into a ditch. The back wall and water tanks were damaged. Eicher School students waiting for the school bus, had a narrow escape. Members of the Resident Welfare Association, Sector-6, extricated the two labourers, who were in the trailer from under the tractor. The injured —
Jughawati, Jug Raj and Anil Kumar driver of the tractor were rushed to the local ESI hospital. Jugawati has been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. |
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Block samiti chief removed from post Chamba, August 9 Mr Dharam Singh Pathania, a former Chairman and sitting member of the samiti, informed this correspondent over the phone today that the no-confidence motion was put forward by him in a meeting chaired by Mr Chaman Lal, Vice-Chairman of the samiti, held at Salooni and the motion was carried by a majority of 19 out of 20 votes, in the absence of Mr Kalia. Meanwhile, Mr Ram Prashad, Block Development Officer-cum-Executive Officer of the samiti, has forwarded the proceedings of the motion to the DC. |
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2 police officers promoted Shimla, August 9 |
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