Patna, Jun 4 (PTI) The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Wednesday came under heavy opposition fire over the alleged rape of a minor girl, who succumbed to her injuries days after the “sexual assault”.
Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged at a press conference that the removal of a medical officer in view of the incident was an “eyewash” to “shield” another official who got an extension to oversee the expansion of the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).
The minor from Muzaffarpur was allegedly raped on May 26, and subsequently admitted to the state-run hospital in Patna in a critical condition, where she later died.
“They have removed from his post one Dr Abhijit”, said the RJD leader, referring to the former Acting Superintendent of PMCH, adding “he was removed by me and served with a show-cause notice for dereliction of duty (when Yadav held the health portfolio during the Mahagathbandhan government), but brought back only because he is a pure RSS man. I am sure, the intent is to bring him back again once the dust settles on this issue”.
Delegations of the Congress and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party also met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and submitted a memorandum of demands, including a special session of the assembly to discuss the incident and the overall law and order scenario.
The CPI(ML) Liberation, along with its women’s wing, too, hit the streets seeking the dismissal of state Health Minister Mangal Pandey.
“Mangal Pandey deserves to be called ‘amangal’ (disaster) Pandey,” Yadav said.
He also said that the action against Dr Abhijit was aimed at “protecting I S Thakur (former PMCH official), who retired in January last year and got an extension because of the direct intervention of the chief minister, at a time when the government had just changed and a new cabinet was yet to be formed”.
The reference was to the turmoil that had ensued with the abrupt exit from the INDIA bloc of Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), and formation of a new government with the BJP.
Yadav alleged that Thakur “belongs to the D K Tax gang”, an expression that has come to be used for “retired bureaucrats” known to be close to the CM.
The RJD leader also made light of a letter written by Union minister Chirag Paswan to Nitish Kumar, seeking a judicial probe against the hospital administration, saying it was tantamount to shedding “crocodile tears”.
The Congress delegation also called for adequate compensation to the family members of the minor girl.
"Death of the rape victim at PMCH was a heart-wrenching incident and an insult to our state headed by Nitish Kumar. She had to die as the law and order situation and the health system in the state collapsed. The NDA government in Bihar and the PMCH administration are solely responsible for the death of the girl,” Bihar Congress Spokesperson Rajesh Rathod said.
The state Congress workers also held a demonstration outside the official residence of Mangal Pandey in Patna and demanded his resignation.
Some Congress workers reportedly defaced Pandey's posters outside his residence, but police personnel immediately dispersed them from the area after a minor scuffle, officials said.