The pulse polio drive in Bihar on Sunday got embroiled in a controversy when volunteers engaged for the task allegedly tried to forcefully administer polio drops to the maternal granddaughter of Patna High Court Judge SMM Alam, prompting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to order a high-level probe into the incident.
Strongly condemning the incident, Kumar ordered the Health Secretary Deepak Prasad and Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Vinay Kumar to inquire into the incident and punish the culprits.
"After coming to know about the incident, I myself rang up Justice Alam and apologised for the unsavoury incident," Kumar told reporters.
"Polio drops should be administered voluntarily by spreading awareness among people and should not be forced upon anybody," he said.
Earlier in the day, daughter of Justice Alam complained of harassment at the hands of volunteers engaged for the job.
She informed her father about the incident. The Judge then rang up the Bochaha police station and complained that his daughter and her father-in-law were harassed by the volunteers, who tried to "coerce" his daughter to get the polio drops administered to her baby, born on August 2 despite her telling them the first dose had already been given.
When told the next dose would be given after consulting the doctor, the volunteers reportedly became furious and used foul language, the judge's wife Nikhat Alam told.
{{/usCountry}}When told the next dose would be given after consulting the doctor, the volunteers reportedly became furious and used foul language, the judge's wife Nikhat Alam told.
{{/usCountry}}An FIR has been registered against a volunteer S Sharma and further probe is on, Muzaffarpur DM said.