Daily Times

Larkana Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Irfan Ali Baloch recently wrote a letter to the Sindh health secretary, asking him to depute three or four senior doctors to assist the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to ascertain facts about the spread of HIV in Ratodero, Daily Times learnt on Thursday.

The letter further stated that the case is related to the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in various patients and involvement of a specific clinic as a source of spreading the viral disease, and added that the matter was purely related to the technical nature of the Sindh Health Department. Moreover, a copy of the letter has also been forwarded to the Sindh Police inspector general (IG).

The DIG had constituted a JIT to probe the allegations of affected people, who had said that Dr Muzaffar Ghangro deliberately used infected syringes to administer injections to his patients, due to which they and their children got infected. Dr Ghangro was arrested and a case registered against him under Section 324. The JIT is headed by Kambar-Shahdadkot SSP Kamran Nawaz Panjotha, and includes Larkana SSP Masood Bangash.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Pakistan Medical Association, Larkana, led by its President Dr Mahboob Shah, called on the DIG and requested him for thorough probe into the issue of arrest of Dr Ghangro. They were assured of transparent investigation into the matter by the JIT.

On the other hand, nine out of 112 people screened at the Blood Screening Camp on Thursday were found to be infected, bringing the total number of HIV positive cases to 94 in Ratodero town of Larkana. Most of the patients are children.