Karnataka's government has ordered an inquiry into the Rs 1.30 crore drugs and syringes purchase scam which involved 100 employees of the directorate of health and family welfare offices located in the 27 districts in the State.

The vigilance cell in the directorate stated that 25 State government hospitals located in the 27 districts in the State went on drugs and syringes purchase spree. The hospital superintendents were also involved in the scam as they teamed up with the employees who were engaged in the racket where purchases were made at higher prices. The scam has amounted a loss of Rs 50 lakh to the State government. The directorate of health and family welfare have now filed a criminal case against them. The compliant has been lodged at the district and State level.

The 25 government hospitals had resorted to purchase unapproved drugs, which have not been tested by the State drugs control department. The pharma companies and the names of drugs have been withheld by the directorate. The syringes, which carry an original price tag of Re 1, were purchased for Rs 2. The hospitals involved in the scam are Government Hospitals in Tumkur, Chikaballapur, Gauribidnur, Sagar, Malavalli, Virajpet and Arasikere. District hospitals are in Chitradurga, Hassan, Raichur, Gulbaraga, Koppal, Dharwad, Karwar, Gadag and Haveri. The general hospitals are at Chamarajanagar, Madikere, Udupi, Bidar. Old District Hospital in Bagalkot, Leprosy Hospital and Magadi Hospitla in Bangalore and Government Hospital in KR Puram, NNR Hospital in Kolar and Women and Children Hospital in Udupi.

Sources from the directorate told Pharmabiz.com that the employees were deceitful to not only set up fake companies to buy and sell drugs but also fabricate letter heads and signatures of the officials from the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGSD), the drug purchase authority of the central government which is an agency authorised to sanction the drugs purchase from the private companies.

The racket surfaced only when certain pharma companies revealed that some of the products scheduled to be delivered were already purchased by the government, stated a senior official of the directorate.

The scam file is now with the chief vigilance officer of the directorate of health and family welfare. There were four special investigating teams who have submitted the details of the forgery. Serious action will be taken against the accused, stated the sources.