SHILLONG, Oct 17 - In a sensational development, the Director of the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Dr DM Thapa, today accused the cardiology head of the institute of running a multi-crore-rupee syndicate by bribing politicians and media persons.
Significantly, Dr Thapa has been asked to step down by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The NEIGRIHMS Director has had a running feud with the cardiology department head, Dr Animesh Mishra, since the past few months.
Dr Thapa alleged that he had caught Dr Mishra red-handed while selling stents and pacemakers procured from private vendors, bypassing the hospital�s Amrit pharmacy. Amrit pharmacies provide medicines and medical items at discounted prices under the NDA Government�s new initiatives.
�There is a big lobby. I have been asked to step down by the Union Health Ministry. Officials did not hear my side of the story. Where is natural justice?� Dr Thapa asked.
He said that he was verbally instructed to step down after the 13th governing council meeting held at Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi, on October 14. The Director alleged that a secret note about him was circulated in the meeting by the Health Ministry.
He further alleged that Dr Mishra has �very close contacts with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare�.
�I sought an appointment with officials of the Union Health Ministry, but this was turned down and instead I was asked to put down my papers first,� Dr Thapa added. He also accused Dr Mishra and his �business syndicate� of bribing politicians and media persons to remove him.
�No Director till date has managed to complete his full term in the NEIGRIHMS due to this lobby. I wanted to instil discipline and check this lobby,� Dr Thapa maintained.
He said the Union Health Ministry would hold a vigilance week later this month, while ruing that it was turning a blind eye to the wrongdoings he had unearthed in the institution.
�With the current syndicate, it is unlikely that the NEIGRIHMS will be allowed to establish the Amrit pharmacy as a source of supply of cardiology stents, devices and implants in the long run,� the NEIGRIHMS Director further alleged.
�Unless the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare takes note of the happenings at the NEIGRIHMS, the institute and the people of the North East will continue to suffer,� Dr Thapa added.
