Lucknow: The probe into the alleged Rs 2.5 crore medicine scam at the urology department of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) has found that genuine patients had to wait up to 20 days for medicines, while costly drugs for ‘fake beneficiaries’ were allegedly procured by the scamsters within three to five days.The KGMU on Tuesday sacked three contractual employees and suspended a pharmacist after a preliminary inquiry confirmed a scam in procurement of medicines under the Asadhya Yojana meant to provide costly drugs free of cost to poor patients on doctors’ advice.The employees allegedly procured free medicines by forging papers showing patients, who were suffering from minor ailments, ailing from cancer and other serious diseases. In a case, they allegedly continued to procure medicines for the patient even after his death. The employees also allegedly created `fake beneficiaries’ on paper.The five-member inquiry committee, which examined medicine orders and delivery records, also suspects that the network involved in the scam may extend beyond the urology department.Explaining the process, KGMU spokesperson Prof K K Singh said the free drug procurement system under Asadhya Rog Scheme involves multiple levels of verification before medicines are packed and distributed.However, he said the four employees found to be involved in the scam used to expedite the process of procuring medicines for the `fake beneficiaries’ showing emergency as the patient’s condition was critical. However, the patients who actually needed the medicines got medicines in 15-20 days as per `normal’ procedure.Meanwhile, two of the three dismissed contractual employees — Sachin Tiwari and Prakash Singh — claimed innocence, saying their role was limited to uploading patient details in the hospital information system and generating documents, while approvals and verification were carried out by senior officials and doctors.The scam was detected when medicine procurement bills suddenly shot up in March and April.
