A man in Bihar’s Jehanabad district on Monday alleged that his ailing two-year-old daughter died as he could not take her to a hospital after getting stuck in a road blockade during Opposition parties’ nationwide shutdown, the Hindustan Times reported.
Pramod Majhi, who lives in Barbigha village, said his daughter had diarrhoea for the last three days and her condition worsened Sunday night. “On Monday morning, we decided to rush her to Jehanabad Sadar Hospital,” Majhi told reporters. “As our vehicle moved, the bandh supporters put up blockades and we got stuck on the road. My daughter could not reach hospital on time and died on the way to hospital.”
However, Alok Ranjan Ghosh, the magistrate of Jehanabad, told NDTV that no one had stopped Majhi’s vehicle. “There may have been some delay in getting the auto in the village but protestors were not stopping any ambulance on the way to the hospital,” Ghosh added.
Paritosh Kumar, the civil sub-divisional officer of Jehanabad, rejected Maji’s claim. “The death of the child is not related to bandh or traffic jam, the relatives had left late from their home [for hospital],” he added.
At a press conference in New Delhi earlier in the afternoon, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress of creating an “atmosphere of fear” in the country. “Will Rahul Gandhi be responsible for the baby’s death?” he asked.
The Janata Dal (United), the ruling party in the state, also criticised the Opposition. “What kind of bandh is it?” the Hindustan Times quoted party spokesperson Sanjay Singh as saying. “An innocent life is lost. Will [Congress leader] Rahul Gandhi or [Rashtriya Janata Dal leader] Tejashwi Yadav take onus?”
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