Harry Krishna Bucktowar, the Chief Pharmacist at the Ministry of Health, was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday, December 22. This follows developments in the case of the purchase of 999,000 tablets of Molnupiravir at a cost of Rs 79,92 from CPN Distributors.
He is accused of having approved, as chairman of the Health and Supplement Committee in 2018 approved the import of a nutritional supplement in 2018 at the Health and Supplement Committee, while the committee had disapproved the request.
In order to regain freedom Harry Krishna Bucktowar had to post bail of Rs 30,000 and sign an IOU of Rs 100,000. An arrest warrant was issued against him by the Commissioner of Police. And he appeared in the Port-Louis court under a charge of “public official using his office for gratification”.
The Chief Pharmacist at the Ministry of Health retired after the PNQ of Xavier-Luc Duval on the purchase of 999,000 tablets of Molnupiravir from CPN Distributors.
And concerning this last case, Dalida Allagapen former Senior Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health was once again heard at the ICAC on December 22, 2022. It is believed that she is the one who approved the purchase of 999,000 tablets of Molnupiravir at a cost of Rs 79,92 from CPN Distributors. In her version of events, she says she based her decision on the recommendations of the Pharmacy Department of the Ministry of Health.
The role of the Principal Pharmacist at the Ministry of Health, and that of the Senior Pharmacist were scrutinized by the ICAC during this interrogation.
Dalida Allagapen is scheduled to be interviewed again by ICAC on Thursday, December 23.
