Vigilance team quizzes medical varsity officials over ‘irregularities’

A team of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) visited the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) to question senior officials and collect documents in connection with its ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in equipment purchase. The team was led by an SSP-rank officer.

The raid also covered Guru Gobind Singh Government Medical College and Hospital (GGSMCH), the university’s constituent institution, with investigators seizing records related to purchases and construction carried out over the past two years.

During the visit, the Vigilance Bureau formally brought BFUHS Vice-Chancellor Dr Rajeev Sood under the ambit of the probe. Sood, who had previously claimed no involvement in the matter, submitted written responses to a detailed questionnaire served on him earlier this month.

The investigation, which originally focused on suspected malpractices in the procurement of medical equipment at the GGSMCH, has now widened to include allegations of “undue” promotions granted to some nursing staff members at the medical college.

Sources allege the promotion bypassed standard procedures and violated established norms, prompting them to merge this complaint with the ongoing procurement probe.

On June 21, the immigration authorities at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, acting on a Vigilance Bureau alert, stopped Sood from boarding a London-bound flight. Sood then maintained that all purchase and administrative decisions at the GGSMCH were handled by the Principal and Medical Superintendent, not the Vice-Chancellor. The bureau now appears to have taken a different view.

The core inquiry centres on whether medical equipment at the GGSMCH was bought at inflated prices through non-transparent tenders, allegedly causing a loss to the state exchequer. Several officials are already under scrutiny, and sources say more administrative and legal action can follow once the investigation is complete.