Bilaspur deaths: Rahul Gandhi accuses Raman government of cover-up

After meeting the affected families at different hospitals, Gandhi said, “The duty of the government is to serve and provide (good health) services. Contrary to this, the camps were not properly organised. Instead of taking responsibility for the incident, medicines (used in sterilisation camps) are being burnt. Evidence is being destroyed. They are trying to cover-up the case.”

Gandhi met Budh Singh, the husband of Baiga tribal woman Chaiti Bai, who had died following the surgery. While the government has prohibited sterilisation of Baiga women, since the tribe is endangered, Chaiti Bai was still forced to undergo the operation. Chaiti’s village Dhanauli falls under the Marwahi assembly constituency of Amit Jogi. He has already announced that he will adopt her five-month-old son and undertake the entire expenses of his upbringing and education.

Gandhi also said that the deaths seemed to be a case of poisoning.

He pointed at the Maoist attack of Darbha, which had claimed lives of top Congress leaders last year, rapes of minor tribal girls in a hostel of Kanker and asked: “Is there no moral responsibility of the Chief Minister and health minister?”

The Congress has sought immediate resignations of Health Minister Amar Agarwal and Chief Minister Raman Singh and said that a case of murder be registered against them.

of a “transparent and unbiased” judicial probe into the tragedy while accusing Congress of trying to politicise the issue.