Health sector paralysed in E Champaran after doctor killing

Motihari: Health services in East Champaran district were paralysed on Tuesday as all OPDs of government hospitals and private clinics were closed to protest the killing of Dr S P Singh, a medical officer posted at Sangrampur primary health centre (PHC) here.
Dr Singh was killed on August 14 when he was on duty. District IMA and Bihar Health Service Association (BHSA) jointly launched the stir and demanded stern action against the SHO of Sangrampur police station and compensation to the deceased doctor's family.
On August 14, when Dr Singh went out of the PHC to attend the nature's call, he was allegedly shot at by the mukhiya of east Sangrampur panchayat Sudist Kumar.
The doctor received gunshot injury in his jaw and was brought to Motihari sadar hospital by his wife Madhuri Devi . The critically injured doctor was sent to a private hospital at Muzaffarpur where he died on Sunday night. Meanwhile, police have lodged an FIR on the statement of the deceased doctor's wife against Sudist Kumar. The mukhiya has been arrested on August 15 and remanded to jail. The case is being investigated and the police have recovered a country-made pistol from the site of occurrence which seems to be used by the assailant.
The doctor's wife, who who was staying with her husband at Sangrampur PHC quarter said, "On August 4, when Dr SP Singh was on duty at the PHC, he had asked a patient to purchase some prescribed medicine from a medical store. The patient purchased the medicine from a shop but the shopkeeper gave a substitute. The doctor asked the patient to return these medicines and as soon as the patient went to return it, the shopkeeper came to the PHC with some goons and abused the doctor and also misbehaved with him . The doctor gave a written complaint to Sangrampur PS SHO but he did not lodge any case as the medicine shopowner is the mukhiya of the panchayat." Dr SN Singh, secretary of BHSA chapter of Motihari said he along with the members of the association met the SP and the DM and demanded action against the shopkeeper but to no avail. As he was regularly being insulted by the henchmen of the shopkeeper, he ultimately filed a complaint case in this regard in the court on August 10.
The IMA and BHSA members alleged that the said doctor was being harassed by anti-social elementsfor quite sometime but police did not take any action.
SP Jeetendra Rana said the salesman of the medicine shop Rajkishor also has been arrested on August 14 by the police.