7 months on, VB yet to question any of 6 suspects

BATHINDA: The vigilance bureau (VB) has failed to make any headway in the HIV+ blood transfusion cases at a government facility in Bathinda even after seven months.

In December last year, the state health department had tasked VB’s Bathinda range unit to investigate possibilities of a nexus of the sacked hospital staff and others behind the repeated cases of wrong blood transfusion at the governmentrun blood bank at Bhai Shaheed Bhai Mani Civil Hospital.

The step was taken after five persons, including four thalassaemia patients aged between 7 and 13, being treated at the district hospital were found HIV positive after blood transfusion.

The role of at least six staffers then posted at the blood bank came under the scanner in the serious breach of strict guidelines of blood transfusion. However, VB has not questioned any of the key suspects to date.

As the Bathinda district police are conducting a regular criminal investigation in which the main accused, Baldev Singh Romana, a medical laboratory technician was already arrested, the VB was asked to probe patterns where several were infused infected blood at the same place.

Bureau’s DSP Kuldeep Singh confirmed that the VB is yet to question any of the suspects.

“Four lab technicians namely Gurpreet Singh Godara, Jagdeep Singh, Ajay Sharma and Gurpreet Ghumman were dismissed by the health department for their alleged negligence. It took us a lot of time to locate their current addresses. Now these suspects have been summoned on August 2,” said the DSP.

He said the VB is also seeking assistance from the district police in the matter.

After two departmental inquiries suspected a mischievous role played by several department staff, the top brass of the health department suspected a link among the cases.