Tripura 23 Feb, 2025: The state health department spends crores of rupees annually to procure life-saving medicines, ensuring free distribution from government hospitals to sub-health centers. However, in a shocking incident, medicines worth lakhs were deliberately set on fire in the dead of night.
The main medical store of Khowai District Health Department is located inside the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) office premises in Dhala Bill. On Friday night, a large quantity of medicines was secretly dumped in the Dhala Bill jungle and burned. The motive behind this act remains unknown.
Local residents reported that after sunset on Friday, a significant amount of medicines including injections, saline bottles, ORS, and other medical supplies were set ablaze in the jungle. Initially, people assumed plastic waste was being burned due to the strong odor. However, upon closer inspection, they discovered that government-provided medicines were being destroyed.
The burning of such a massive stock of medicines within the CMO office premises appears to be a premeditated act. It was done on a Friday night, possibly to avoid accountability, as government offices remain closed for the next two days. The biggest question is: why were these medicines destroyed?
It is unlikely that all these medicines had expired at the same time, as the store regularly supplies drugs to a district hospital, two sub-divisional hospitals, primary health centers, and sub-health centers. Evidence from the site suggests that the burned medicines were not expired. A packet of contraceptive units meant for women was found intact at the scene, with an expiry date of November 11, 2025. Each of these units holds significant market value, raising suspicions about a cover-up of corruption.
The mysterious destruction of government medicines has sparked widespread speculation in the area. The key question now is whether the state health department will launch a thorough investigation into the matter.
