Patna stampede: Govt transfers four top doctors

The Bihar government Tuesday suspended the superintendent of the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) Dr Lakhendra Prasad and slapped show-cause notices on PMCH doctors Dr Vishwendra Kumar Sinha, Dr Ajit Bahadur Singh and Dr Ajit Singh for dereliction of duty.

The Bihar government Tuesday suspended the superintendent of the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) Dr Lakhendra Prasad and slapped show-cause notices on PMCH doctors Dr Vishwendra Kumar Sinha, Dr Ajit Bahadur Singh and Dr Ajit Singh for dereliction of duty.

Following the suspension orders on Tuesday, chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said he would visit the hospital after a month to take stock of the situation.

The move comes two days after a crackdown against four senior officials for the Dussehra day stampede that claimed 33 lives. While assistant professor of surgery Dr Uma Shankar Singh has been transferred to the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital, assistant professor of urology Dr AK Malviya and associate professor of orthopaedics Dr Vijay Kumar have been shifted to the Anugrah Narayan Medical College Hospital. Gaya assistant professor of surgery Dr Binod Kumar has been asked to join the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College Hospital, Bhagalpur.

Secretary, health, Anand Kishore said the four doctors would also face departmental proceedings. Joint director, health, Dr Abid Hussain has been instructed to probe the complaints, Kishore said, adding that a fourth grade hospital employee, Lalan Prasad, has also been suspended for allegedly demanding money from patients for his services.