RATODERO: The police on Tuesday arrested a doctor — who is allegedly an HIV patient — after he was accused of passing on the virus to his patients in Larkana.
The arrest was made after an official of the anti-quackery team, Dr Abdul Sami Rajpur, filed a complaint against the doctor on Monday night. The suspect, identified as Dr Muzaffar Ghangharo, is a government employee and also runs a private clinic.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the doctor may have transmitted the virus to the patients.
Police produced him before a local court on Tuesday and sought his three-day physical remand which was granted by the judge.
Dr Ghangharo rejected the allegation that he was responsible for spreading the virus.
Talking to reporters outside the court, he claimed that if he had known he was HIV-positive, he would have sought treatment for himself first.
Larkana Deputy Commissioner Siddique Noman confirmed that an FIR was registered with Dr Rajpur as the complainant. Confirming Dr Ghangharo’s subsequent arrest, he said a detailed report of the matter will be sent to senior officials for further investigation.
The in-charge of the Sindh Aids Control Programme, Dr Sikander Memon, said that a medical team will arrive in Ratodero next week to determine the causes of the spread of the virus among residents. A medical examination of Dr Ghangharo will also be conducted.
Panic gripped Larkana over the past few weeks after more than 40 HIV-positive cases were reported across the district. Children as young as 16 months were among those diagnosed with the virus. Multiple teams of the Sindh Aids Control Programme arrived in Ratodero last week to carry out tests of people who were suspected to have been infected with HIV.