Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday, 11 August, accepted the resignation of Dr Raj Bahadur, the vice chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, after he was allegedly forced to lie on a dirty mattress at a hospital by the state's health minister during an inspection.
Official sources told PTI that the Punjab government has given the charge of VC of the university to the director of medical education for now.
The CM has forwarded Dr Bahadur’s resignation to the Punjab governor, said officials.
Dr Raj Bahadur had tendered his resignation on 30 July after he felt "humiliated" at the hands of Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra.
What Happened?
After receiving complaints over the lack of cleanliness in the hospital wards, Health Minister Jouramajra had entered Faridkot's Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, accompanied by mediapersons, and asked Dr Bahadur to lie on a patient's bed.
A video clip of the incident showed Jouramajra placing a hand on the veteran surgeon's shoulder as he pointed towards the "damaged and dirty condition" of a mattress at the hospital.
The minister then allegedly forced Dr Bahadur to lie on the same mattress.
After the incident, Dr Bahadur expressed that he felt “humiliated” at his treatment and asked the Punjab CM to be relieved from his post.
The incident had triggered an outrage and various doctors' bodies, including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), called the incident “absolutely uncalled for” and demanded Jouramajra’s dismissal from the state Cabinet.
The IMA on Saturday, 30 July, demanded “an unconditional apology and resignation from the Health Minister of Punjab for his misbehaviour.”
(With inputs from PTI.)
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