Dir SKIMS under fire over ‘VIP treatment’ to separatists

DM chief shifted to Central Jail; Geelani’s letters to Dr Zargar under scanner

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 5: Within weeks of his appointment as Director of the prestigious Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), eminent gastroenterologist Dr Shaukat Ali Zargar seems to be landing in trouble over “providing VIP treatment to hardcore separatist leaders”. Notwithstanding his personal orders of lodging Asiya Andrabi in a VIP Room, authorities have today shifted detained Dukhtaraan-e-Millat Chairperson back to Srinagar Central Jail.

Authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that top echelons of the state administration have taken serious notice of Director SKIMS’ decision of not only providing one of the two VIP Rooms of his hospital to the banned Dukhtaraan chief, Asiya Andrabi, but also prolonging her admission without any compelling reason. Confirmation is still awaited but sources insist that Mrs Andrabi was shifted back to Srinagar Central Jail today after a reprimand on senior SKIMS authorities.

Detained under Public Safety Act (PSA), Mrs Andrabi had been taken to SKIMS for medical examination under court orders in the middle of July. She had complained of backache besides pain in her chest and heart area. On personal orders of Director SKIMS, officials had lodged her in VIP Room of the hospital. Dr Zargar also constituted a team of doctors, mainly from departments of Physical Medicine and General Medicine, for round-the-clock observation and treatment of the separatist leader. Head of Department of Physical Medicine, Dr Ali Mohammad Bohra, was appointed as head of the team.

Sources said that during two weeks of observation and a variety of examinations and investigations, doctors declared Mrs Andrabi fit for discharge though they advised her some physiotherapy exercises because of a disc. They did not detect any other ailment. On July 30^th, Prof Bohra ordered on the file that Mrs Andrabi be discharged immediately.

However, within minutes, Director SKIMS called Mrs Andrabi’s file to his office and recorded that the patient be retained in the VIP Room of the hospital. He not only overruled Prof Bohra’s advice but also removed him as head of the team taking special care of the Dukhtaraan chief. Assistant Professor Dr Javed was appointed as the new head of the team.

When authorities in the state government learned that the DM chief was being lodged at SKIMS “without any valid reason” and a VIP Room had been allotted to her, they increased surveillance. It was reported to senior officials in Police and Home department that Dr Zargar had not only provided extraordinary VIP treatment to the radical separatist leader but had also been visiting her two to three times every day.

Authorities, according to sources, also learned that Dr Zargar had received at least three letters of recommendation from Chairman of the radical faction of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and acted in accordance with his desire. All these letters, sources said, were on the official letterhead of the Chairman of Hurriyat Conference and President of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

Digging deep into his past, Police have observed that in 1991, Dr Zargar, alongwith five other senior government officials, had spearheaded shutdown of government offices for over two months. Their demands included reprimanding India over “gross human rights violations in Kashmir” and holding Plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions. Governor’s administration had terminated services of all six of the leaders of the agitation.

However, the agitation had been called off over reinstatement of the dismissed officials.

Allegation of “providing VIP treatment to separatist leaders” has surfaced against Dr Zargar at a time when Cabinet Minister, Aga Ruhulla, alleged publicly that he had been maltreated and attacked by Dr Zargar and his PSO when he was attending on his mother at a VIP Room, adjacent to Asiya’s.

Meanwhile, in a press release, officiating Chairperson of Dukhtaraan-e-Millat, Rifat Fatima, expressed her concern over Asiya’s shifting to Central Jail. She alleged that Government of India was pushing the detained separatist leader to death. She said it was surprising that the same doctors, who were preparing her for physiotherapy in the morning on Friday, discharged her from the hospital in the afternoon without explaining any reason. She said that doctors were “clearly under pressure” in discharging Mrs Andrabi. She questioned the administration of justice and lamented that Asiya had been detained under third PSA in the last one year.

END