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Amid niqab row, woman doctor does not report for duty in Patna
Nusrat Parveen did not join duty till 7 pm on Saturday and the “possibility window for the day” was closed.
Patna: The appointment date of the doctor, whose niqab (veil) was removed by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar during an event earlier this week, was extended on Saturday after she failed to join duty, officials familiar with the matter said.
Patna civil surgeon Avinash Kumar Singh said that Nusrat Parveen did not join duty till 7 pm on Saturday and the “possibility window for the day” was closed. “I have been informed that the last date of joining has been extended beyond December 20. It remains to be seen whether Parveen joins on Monday or not,” he said, without specifying what the new deadline for joining was.
The incident, a video clip of which has been circulated widely and sparked a major political row, took place on Monday at the chief minister’s secretariat in Patna when Ayush doctors had gathered to receive their letters of appointment. When the woman came up for her letter, Kumar saw her niqab, said “what is this?”, and pulled the veil down.
The civil surgeon was not aware about the exact reason behind the delay in the woman doctor’s joining, if at all she joins, as he “had no contact with her or the family members.”
Vijay Kumar, a surgeon at Sabalpur PHC in Patna Sadar where Parveen was expected to join, also confirmed that she has not joined duty.
“Around five-six people have joined today, and Parveen is not among them... Her name is in the list but we have not received her appointment letter from the civil surgeon office in Patna,” he said.
The surgeon said that, as per protocol, candidates are required to report to the civil surgeon office in Patna and then join their respective workplaces.
Meanwhile, governor Arif Mohammad Khan expressed his disappointment over the niqab row. “It pains me to hear the word ‘dispute’ in this case. Can there be any row between a father and a daughter?” he asked.
Speaking to reporters in Patna, he said, “What have you people made out of it? This man (Nitish Kumar) considers female students as his daughters.”
(With inputs from agencies)
