Bihar doctor whose hijab CM Nitish Kumar pulled down fails to join duty

Patna: Officials in Bihar confirmed on Saturday that the doctor whose niqab Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removed earlier this week at a public event has not yet joined duty, just as the controversy surrounding it continues to spiral, India Today reported.

Ayush doctor Nusrat Parveen was among those who had gathered at the Chief Minister’s secretariat in Patna on Monday to receive appointment letters when the incident took place.

When Parveen, wearing a naqab, came forward, Kumar removed her veil reportedly asking ‘ who is this’ triggering controversy as the footage of it went viral .

Patna Civil Surgeon Avinash Kumar Singh said Nusrat Parveen had not reported for duty till 7 pm on Saturday at Sabalpur Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Patna Sadar just as ‘possibility window for the day’ was closed.

Without giving details of the revised deadline, Singh said: ‘I have been informed that the last date of joining has been extended beyond December 20. It remains to be seen whether Parveen joins on Monday or not.’

Vijay Kumar, a surgeon at the Sabalpur Primary Health Centre (PHC), also confirmed that she had not joined.

‘Around five-six people have joined today, and Parveen is not among them. Her name is on the list, but we have not received her appointment letter from the civil surgeon’s office in Patna,’ he said.

Governor Arif Mohammad Khan weighed in expressing disappointment over the controversy saying ‘It pains me to hear the word ‘dispute’ in this case. Can there be any row between a father and a daughter?’

Throwing his weight behind the chief minister, the governor told reporters: ‘What have you people made out of it? This man considers female students as his daughters.’

Mahfoozur Rahman, principal of the Government Tibbi College and Hospital (GTCH), where Parveen is a second-year student, quoted her husband as saying that the family was not angry with Nitish Kumar but was ‘disappointed with the row stirred by the media’.

In the thick of the controversy, neighbouring Jharkhand’s health minister Irfan Ansari has offered Parveen a job with a monthly salary of Rs 3 lakh, a government flat alongside full security.

Ansari accused Nitish Kumar of demeaning the Muslim community by removing the doctor’s niqab.