Shillong Oct 31: A committee was given two weeks time to submit its report to the Union health ministry in connection with the preliminary inquiry into suspicious activities by private vendors inside the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

The committee was constituted by the Union health ministry after the Vigilance Division received a letter from NEIGRIHMS requesting for investigation into suspicious activities by unauthorized outsider/private vendors inside the hospital who moved around with consumables and entered restricted areas without prior approval of the Medical Superintendent.

The terms of reference of the committee is to examine the veracity of the allegations of suspicious activities inside NEIGRIHMS, conduct preliminary enquiry into the matter and prepare enquiry report by taking into account comments of the vigilance section, advise further course of action in the matter to the ministry, apart from any recommendation the committee may like to make.

The committee is to submit its report within two weeks.

The committee was instituted to carry out the probe after the 13th Governing Council meeting of NEIGRIHMS decided that its director D M Thapa should leave the institute.

The Governing Council meeting was chaired by Union minister for health and family welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi on October 14.

Thapa was joined on April 15, 2017 as the director of NEIGRIHMS but his appointment has not yet been ratified.

The director however demanded that a high level team should visit NEIGRIHMS and urged the Union health ministry to give him an opportunity to explain and clarify on the ‘fabricated allegations’ made against him during the meeting of the Governing Council.

Earlier Meghalaya health minister, A L Hek claimed that the ground for removing the director was because he had not called a meeting of faculty and administration in the last two years to review the day to day affairs in NEIGRIHMS.

Thapa however said that he has been a victim of “clandestine business” which has been going on in NEIGRIHMS especially in the cardiology department though he has followed the Union health ministry’s order that materials for treatment of cardiac patients like stents, and pacemakers should be bought from AMRIT pharmacy not from outside pharmacy, allegedly operating in nexus with the head of the cardiology department.

Thapa said that on April 30 this year, there was a seizure of cardiology consignments which include stents, pacemakers and consumables approximately worth Rs 30 lakh.