Illegal appointments in SKIMS: Enquiry Committee fails to submit report

Mohammad Aaqib

Srinagar, May 27: The officials at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura, seems to be shielding the accused officials allegedly involved in the illegal recruitment as the enquiry committee failed to submit the report of “illegal appointment” within a fortnight.

On April, 24 Dr Showkat Zargar, former Director SKIMS, and heads of two SKIMS departments were put under the scanner of the State Vigilance Commission (SVC) after allegations of illegal appointment of Senior Research Officer (SRO), came into the forefront

According to an order, a copy of which lies with the Kashmir Convener, that a five-member enquiry committee constituted by the Director SKIMS Prof Omar Javed Shah to enquire in the appointment of a Senior Research Officer in the Department of Radiological Physics and Bio-Engineering and was directed to submit the report within a fortnight.

However, sources said that even after passing of the deadline, the committee has not met even once and no in house investigation is taking place in the matter.

Apart from Zargar, Head of Department of Radiotherapy, Prof M Maqbool Lone, and Head of Department Radiation Physics and Bio-Engineering, Dr M Mohib-ul-Haq Malik, are also under investigation for their role in the appointment made by relaxing rules to accommodate a blue-eyed candidate.

According to sources, Mohsin Rehman Khan, a relative of both the HODs was appointed in violation of the MCI rules in 2013. The accused officials misused their official position to adjust him even as he was not eligible as per the MCI rules.

To fill the vacancy the officials had laid down PhD as the eligibility criteria for the post. However, the selected candidate didn’t have the requisite qualification during the time of selection.

Official sources said the duo had changed the selection criteria on “one-time basis” to induct the blue-eyed candidate, though they were not the competent authority to do so. Not just that, they managed to secure approval of the premier institute’s Director, Dr Showkat Zargar. “They managed to bend rules by misleading the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) and Governing Body of SKIMS. They projected the wrong selection criteria before them, even as they were enjoying the patronage of the former Director. It’s a sheer breach of trust.

Officials bend the rules by tampering with the actual rules and mislead the top bodies of the institution,” a senior official told Kashmir Convener. According to the documents, the accused officials relaxed the qualification for the post of Senior Research Officer to MSC in the Department of Bio-Engineering in order to accommodate a blue-eyed candidate.

The minimum qualification for the post of Senior Resident and Senior Research Officer in the clinical departments is MD or MS while in the non-clinical departments including Clinical Bio-chemistry, advanced Centre for Genetic engineering, Immunology and molecular medicine and department of Radiological physics and Bio-Engineering is PHD.

However, the accused officials in gross violation of the rules not only recommended to relax the eligibility criteria but also managed to get approval for creation of two special posts for the recruitment of blue-eyed persons, who according to sources are relative of the two accused officials. Earlier the department advertised 4 posts in Radiological physics department in 2009 out of which 3 posts were filled in who were having PhD degrees.

The experts have rejected the excuse of the accused HoDs regarding non-availability of PhD candidates to relax rules and said that there are PhD students available. “Even if there is no candidate with relevant degrees, then the same rules should apply on other departments that are without faculty,” said an official wishing not to be named.

Four Departments including Physical Medical and Rehabilitation, Blood Bank and Blood transfusion and Department of nuclear medicines are without faculty owing to lack of eligibility. However, no recruitment rules were relaxed to fill the vacancies. “But the rules were relaxed in only two departments just to recruit blue-eyed candidates despite the fact that candidates with relevant degrees were available,” an aspirant said.

The lackadaisical approach by the inquiry committee has raised several eyebrows over the intentions of the committee as the people fear that a strong lobby inside the institution seems to be shielding the accused persons.

Talking to Kashmir Convener, Director SKIMS Dr. Omar Javed Shah said that “the action must have been taken in this regard but I don’t know exactly what happened in this case, so you better to talk Additional Director,”

When KC asked Additional Director, SKIMS as why the committee failed to submit the report he said,” I will ask the enquiry committee tomorrow as to why the report wasn’t submitted yet,”