Pir inquiring why SKIMS became a hell for “CM’s man”

Proposal to dismiss surgical oncologist Altaf Gauhar turned down

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 25: Commissioner-Secretary for Health and Medical Education, Ghulam Ahmad Pir, on Saturday started an inquiry to find why authorities at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) allegedly compelled Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s favourite and eminent surgical oncologist, Dr Altaf Gauhar Haji, to quit “in protest”. Chief Minister, in his capacity as Chairman of the highest decision making Governing Body of the tertiary care hospital, has not only turned down the proposal of terminating Dr Altaf’s service and his replacement by General Surgeon Dr Nisar Chaudhary but has also asked the senior bureaucrat to investigate why that particular file had moved from SKIMS to Chief Secretary to Chief Minister with lightning speed.

According to informed sources, Mr G A Pir drove all the way to Soura and remained closeted with Director SKIMS, Dr Shaukat Ali Zargar, for over an hour. Sources called it a ‘closed door meeting”. It was not immediately clear as to what transpired between the two in today’s one-on-one. It was, nonetheless, widely believed by well placed sources that Pir actually started the inquiry he has been asked to complete within two weeks. Earlier this month, Chief Minister had assigned the investigation to Pir after he turned down Director SKIMS Dr Zargar’s proposal to terminate the service of eminent surgical oncologist, Dr Altaf Gauhar.

Direcor SKIMS, according to bureaucratic sources, had initiated extreme action against Dr Altaf and also appointed General Surgeon Dr Nisar Chaudhary as head of the lately created Department of Surgical Oncology. Dr Zargar had demonstrated keenness in Dr Altaf’s dismissal and Dr Nisar’s appointment with the argument that only a Professor was “qualified” to head the department. After his super-specialty in surgical oncology in England and having working with hospitals of reputation overseas, Dr Altaf had returned to his home state of J&K earlier this year and joined as Assistant Professor at SKIMS.

Sources insist that Dr Altaf returned and joined SKIMS on Chief Minister’s persuasion. Being the only faculty in his discipline, he was appointed as Head of the Department of Surgical Oncology. However, within weeks, Dr Altaf began complaining that a “mafia of General surgeons and private practitioners”, allegedly enjoying Director’s patronage, had created for him “extreme hostile conditions”. In one of his strongly worded representations, he complained to Chief Minister that he was being “demoralized and marginalized” as his job profile was being encroached upon. According to the complaint, he had been given neither a ward nor a patient.

With the skirmishes between Dr Zargar and Dr Altaf snowballing into a crisis at SKIMS, the former asserted in meetings and communications that anybody not holding the rank of Professor was ineligible to head a department. Director reportedly overruled several members of the Governing Body, including Director of AIIMS Dr Deka, who maintained that Dr Altaf could well head the department which had currently no Post Graduation programme. They insisted that only departments with PG programmes were supposed to be headed by a Professor. Eventually, Dr Zargar appointed Dr Nisar as head of Surgical Oncology department.

When things came to a head, Dr Altaf in protest proceeded on leave. Since his leave had not been sanctioned, SKIMS authorities described his “protest leave” as “unauthorized absence”. Unlike in hundreds of identical cases, SKIMS dashed off explanations and got a series of notifications published in newspapers, asking Dr Altaf either to report for duty or face dismissal of service. Finally, Director SKIMS proposed termination of his services under Civil Service Rules and Regulation in vogue and submitted the file to the competent authority (CM and Chairman of Governing Body of SKIMS) through the office of Chief Secretary.

Chief Minister, according to sources, wondered how an eminent cancer surgeon, who had a high profile job at a British hospital and was being wooed by several corporate Hospitals all over India, had been pushed to the wall at SKIMS. It was all the more surprising that Dr Altaf had returned to Srinagar on none other than Chief Minister’s persuasion. According to sources, Chief Minister even pulled up Chief Secretary Madhav Lal and asked him how that particular file had traveled to him from SKIMS with lightning speed even as scores of top priority files and communications had gathered dust in red-tapism.

Sources said that Chief Minister turned down Director SKIMS’ proposal of terminating Dr Altaf’s service and his replacement by Gen Surgeon Dr Nisar Chaudhary. He also ordered an inquiry by Commissioner-Secretary Health and Medical Education who was asked to investigate as to why Dr Altaf had proceeded on “protest leave” and why Director SKIMS had shown “extraordinary interest” in getting him dismissed and replaced by a General Surgeon. Thereafter, Dr Altaf’s joining report was entertained and he was allowed to resume duty as Head of Department.

While Director SKIMS was not reachable for comment and Medical Superintendent Dr Syed Mohammad Tabish did not respond to repeated phone calls, Mr G A Pir declined to share any details. He confirmed to Early Times that he had been asked to hold an inquiry regarding complaints of two doctors of SKIMS and SMHS Hospital, both named Dr Altaf. In his overnight conversation, Mr Pir said that he had not yet started the inquiry into the SKIMS episode. “As of now, we have just informal, prejudiced versions of both the parties. I have not yet recorded any statements or examined any witnesses or evidences”, Mr Pir asserted.

Mr Pir further said that the process of inquiry would take “some days”. He said that he would submit his findings to Chief Minister as and when completed. When it was pointed out to Mr Pir why similar action (termination of services) had not been taken against doctors like Dr Manzoor Thokar, Additional Professor Microbiology, who was working at Bin Gazi University in Libya for the last over three years, he said that Dr Thokar had got the process stayed from a court of law. “We have taken action against a number of doctors who are absconding in violation of Civil Service Rules and Regulations and working in foreign countries”, Mr Pir added.

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