Days after a massive row was triggered when a woman doctor's naqab was removed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during an appointment letter distribution programme, the doctor has not joined the duty.
The doctor was scheduled to report to the Sabalpur Community Health Centre (CHC) under Patna Sadar by 6 pm on Saturday. However, according to official sources, she did not show up at the designated time.
Patna Civil Surgeon Avinash Kumar Singh said that Nusrat Parveen did not join duty till 7 pm on Saturday and the "possibility window for the day” was closed. "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,” he said, PTI reported.
Vijay Kumar, a surgeon at the PHC, 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, adding that candidates are required to first report to the civil surgeon’s office before joining their postings.
Hijab Row
The incident that triggered the controversy took place on Monday at the Chief Minister’s secretariat in Patna, where Ayush doctors had gathered to receive appointment letters. When Parveen came forward wearing a naqab, Kumar reportedly asked, “What is this?” and then removed her veil.
A video clip of the moment went viral, sparking sharp political reactions across party lines.
Meanwhile, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan expressed disappointment over the controversy. “It pains me to hear the word ‘dispute’ in this case. Can there be any row between a father and a daughter?” he asked. “What have you people made out of it? This man considers female students as his daughters,” the governor told reporters in Patna, defending the chief minister.
Earlier in the day, Mahfoozur Rahman, principal of Government Tibbi College & Hospital (GTCH), of which Parveen is a second-year student, had indicated an extension in the deadline beyond Saturday in "this special case”.
"Her family said that they want to escape media coverage, and that the woman doctor will rethink whether to join or not,” the principal said, PTI reported.
Dismissing reports that the family had moved to Kolkata in protest, Rahman said such claims were false. He quoted Parveen’s husband as saying that the family was neither angry with Nitish Kumar nor the government, but was “disappointed with the row stirred by the media”.
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