LJP chief seeks probe into Covid patient's 'disappearance'

PATNA: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan has written a fresh letter to chief minister (CM) Nitish Kumar and sought a probe into the “disappearance” of a Covid-19 patient of Jamui from the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in Patna since July 6.

In his letter, Chirag pointed out that Ranjit Kumar, a native of Sheikhpura town, which falls under the Jamui parliamentary constituency, had been undergoing cancer treatment in Mumbai for the last six months.

He was declared Covid positive on June 25 after a test conducted at the Mahavir Cancer Institute in Phulwarisharif and kept at an isolation centre in Sheikhpura on June 29. Later he was referred to the NMCH, but when his family reached the hospital to meet him on July 6, Ranjit could not be found.

Chirag also said the NMCH authorities had not informed the patient’s family about his “disappearance”.

Ranjit’s wife Anita Kumari told TOI over the phone on Saturday that she went to the NMCH again on July 13 to search for her husband. She tried lodging an FIR at a police station in the state capital, but “the cops were not ready” to record her statement. After the Sheikhpura police also “refused” to register her complaint, she approached the local MP.

Chirag, who represents the Jamui constituency in the Lok Sabha, has also sent a copy of the letter to health minister Mangal Pandey, director general of police, district magistrates of Patna and Sheikhpura, civil surgeon of Sheikhpura and NMCH superintendent.