Gloves off: SMO locks horns with Haripur prison authorities

Says jail superintendent, authorities settling scores after report on death of inmate

HARIPUR: Central Prison Haripur Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Ijaz Ahmed has moved a civil court against the jail superintendent and K-P IG prisons’ decision to bar him from performing his duties. The decision was taken after a verbal spat was reported between the SMO and officials of the computer section. The court of civil judge, Qazi Ijazur Rehman, fixed December 23 as the date of hearing when opposing counsel would present arguments, sources said.

According to a letter, the decision was taken on December 10 and forced the officer to stay away from his daily duties which include the care of 130 patients round-the-clock. In the letter, titled ‘Irritation amongst staff of PMIS at Haripur Central Prison’, the superintendent, Khalid Abbas, referred to a report from Prison Monitoring and Information System (PMIS). The latter is a project involving the computerisation of jail records. It stated Ahmed used threatening and abusive language against key punch operators of the computer section.

Enraged over the medical officer’s language, the other officials believed his presence could spoil the “peaceful atmosphere at the jail”, the letter said. He was asked to stay at his official residence till further orders.

Counter argument

Ahmed, who was in charge of the 130-bed jail hospital, denied the allegations and clarified his position. The SMO said he was busy examining patients with visiting medical specialist, Dr Tahir Angez Khan, when some prisoners started quarreling in the KPO office. The doctor said he went to ask the arguing individuals to stay calm. He claimed not a single word was uttered against key punch operators.

The SMO denied the claims in the letter and said it was simply a form of score settling by jail authorities after he wrote a report on the death of an under-trial inmate. He said the report was written in his register and submitted to higher authorities on December 8.

Death of an inmate

The SMO said Noraj, son of Ajab Khan, was a middle-aged prisoner under trial and brought to him with diarrhoea. Ahmed provided emergency treatment, but his blood pressure showed no improvement. As a result, the patient was referred by him to the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital Haripur.

However, the jail authorities did not shift him to the hospital even after an hour, thus causing the patient’s death due to dehydration, said Ahmed. He said the facts were mentioned in the jail hospital’s register and sent to higher authorities along with a recommendation for an autopsy.

He claimed the report irked Abbas who turned a minor issue into the basis for banning him from the hospital.

While filing a case with the civil court, he termed the decision to bar him from work as unlawful. He requested the jail superintendent’s order be declared null
and void.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2015.