Lifesaving medicines worth lakhs were being smuggled out of NRS hospital for at least four years by Group D workers, mainly of the emergency and gynaecology wards, the probe into the scam has revealed.

“A section of the Group D employees of the two wards ran the racket for four years. They sold the medicines in the black market with the help of middlemen,” said an officer of Muchipara police station investigating the case.

Six Group D workers of the two wards have been absconding since the racket came to light in end-July. “We have informed the hospital authorities about their involvement,” added the investigator.

Five hospital employees, including a head nurse, were arrested in connection with the racket.

All state-run hospitals receive medicines from a central drug store, located near NRS.

An officer who has been tracking the racket said the medicines were stolen after they were sent to different wings of NRS from the hospital storeroom. “Members of the racket smuggled out most of the medicines from the emergency and gynaecology wards and handed them over to Naresh Rajak and his aides, who in turn sold the drugs to traders.”

The role of employees who had been assigned to monitor the medicine stock in the hospital storeroom has also come under the scanner.

“We went through the register that contains the details of medicines supplied to different hospitals over the past five years. There is a huge gap between the number of medicines sent to the hospital and the number of medicines given to poor patients,” he said.

According to him, the racket thrived in the absence of a proper system to monitor the medicine stock. “Only after a prod from the health department did the hospital authorities assign a group of people to monitor the stock reaching the hospital from central drug stores so that medicines and consumables cannot be smuggled out,” he said.

The racket came to light with the arrest of 45-year-old Rajak from his house in Serpentine Lane in Sealdah. A huge quantity of medicines and other items stolen from state hospitals, worth more than Rs 2.5 lakh, were seized from the house.

Investigators said Rajak, who had links with hospital employees, used to sell stolen hospital supplies to traders in Bagri market.