JAP activists continue their indefinite fast on Ara Sadar Hospital campus

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : The fast unto death agitation by the Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) activists continued for the second day on December 14, 2018, on the campus of Sadar Hospital, Ara, in protest against the doctors who ask the patients to visit their respective private clinics.

The JAP activists said their agitation would continue till Dr Kumar Jitendra was arrested. They alleged that Dr Kumar Jitendra, an orthopaedic surgeon, had operated a woman and fixed a steel rod in her leg but the steel rod came out of the leg after two months of operation that caused great resentment among her family members. The doctors of the Sadar Hospital, on the direction of the Hospital Superintendent Dr Satish Kumar Sinha, operated the woman and rectified the fault but dereliction on part of Dr Kumar Jitendra invited public ire and the people demanded his dismissal.

Bhojpur District Magistrate Sanjeev Kumar constituted an inquiry committee under the Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC) Shubham Shubhankar on December 12, 2018, and directed him to submit his report at the earliest. A three doctor team has also inquired into the matter. Sources at the Sadar Hospital said that the three-member committee of the doctors, in its report submitted to the Civil Surgeon, found that the iron rod came out of the leg due to infection not due to fault of the doctor concerned.

On December 13 evening, about 40 goons allegedly supporters of Dr Kumar Jitendra attacked the JAP activists and threatened them with dire consequences if they did call off their agitation that caused road blockade for about three hours at the gate of the Sadar Hospital. Later the SDO, Ara, Arun Prakash assured the protesters that Dr Kumar Jitendra would be arrested at the earliest.