AES deaths in Bihar: Case lodged against ministers

Perturbed over the increase in the number of deaths of children due to suspected AES (acute encephalitis syndrome) in Muzaffarpur, a social activist has filed a case in a lower court against Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Bihar’s Health Minister Mangal Pandey. Altogether, 124 children have died so far due to a mysterious disease, while more than 150 are undergoing treatment in Muzaffarpur and other adjoining districts.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Muzaffarpur will hear the case on June 24.

The ministers have been booked under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 308 (culpable homicide) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). If convicted, the accused could be awarded two-year jail-term, or fine, or both.

The ministers came under flak on Sunday evening when Harsh Vardhan, after inspecting the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), was holding a high-level meeting with senior doctors and experts. The Bihar Health Minister, in the meantime, asked one of his aides: “What’s the score? How many wickets are down?" (In reference to the Indo-Pak World Cup match on Sunday evening).

The other junior Union Minister Ashwini Choubey was caught napping. Choubey, however, later clarified that he was not sleeping but was “deeply thinking about the deaths”.

All the three ministers had visited SKMCH in Muzaffarpur on Sunday and were harping the same theory that people should be made aware of how to take care of children during intense heat wave condition.

The social activist Tamanna Hashmi, who has filed the case against the ministers, has charged them with gross negligence which led to the death of 124 children in 2019. “Majority of the children, who belonged to the lower strata of the society, died due to the negligence of the health department and lack of infrastructure in the government hospitals,” Hashmi alleged.