Chirag flags 'disappearance' of COVID-19 patient in Bihar, writes to Nitish

LJP President Chirag Paswan has written a letter to CM Nitish Kumar seeking a probe into the mysterious 'disappearance' of a COVID-19 patient of his parliamentary constituency Jamui from NMCH since July 6.

Patna: Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan on Saturday flagged the 'disappearance' of a resident of his parliamentary constituency who suffered from cancer and allegedly went missing from a Patna hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.

Paswan, who represents Jamui in Lok Sabha, shot off letters to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the superintendent of Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) here, both of which were shared by his party on social media.

Chirag flags 'disappearance' of COVID-19 patient in Bihar, writes to Nitish

The LJP chief highlighted the alleged disappearance of Ranjit Kumar, a resident of Sheikhpura district which falls under Jamui parliamentary constituency.

Ranjit Kumar was undergoing treatment for cancer in Mumbai for six months and tested positive for COVID-19 on June 25, after his samples were taken on the advice of doctors at the Patna-based Mahavir Cancer Institute, which he had visited for check-up.

According to Paswan, the patient had returned to his Sheikhpura residence by the time his test reports came and he was admitted to a local COVID isolation ward on June 29, but referred to NMCH on July 3 as his health worsened.

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On July 6, when family members visited NMCH to meet him, they were told by hospital authorities that he was never admitted.

Health authorities in Sheikhpura maintained that they had sent Ranjit Kumar to NMCH and no information of his disappearance from the Patna hospital was received by them.

"Ranjit Kumar is a resident of my parliamentary constituency. His family members are in great distress. Please look into the matter and ensure appropriate action against those who are found at fault," Paswan said in his letters to the chief minister and the NMCH superintendent.

"My husband, a 51-year-old man, used to work in the fields to eke out a living until he was rendered unfit for any type of labour because of cancer. We have five children, three of whom suffer from speech impairment. I feel so helpless," Ranjit Kumar's wife Anita Devi told reporters over phone.

Asked whether any missing report has been lodged by her family, she replied in the negative, saying, "We have nobody who can do the needful. I do not know how to go about in these matters".

With PTI inputs