UP: CMO suspended, booked in Sultanpur for 'burn govt's effigy' remark

Sultanpur: The acting chief medical superintendent of a government hospital here has been suspended and booked after a video showed him purportedly making an objectionable remark against the Uttar Pradesh government during an argument with political workers over hospital mismanagement, officials said on Tuesday.

The controversy was triggered on Saturday when members of several political parties reached the Birsinghpur Community Health Centre to raise concerns about the alleged lack of medicines and absentee doctors.

During the exchange, acting chief medical superintendent (CMS) Bhaskar Prasad allegedly told the complainants, “Don’t burn my effigy, burn the government’s effigy,” after they threatened to stage a protest against him and the chief medical officer.

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A video clip of the purported remark quickly went viral on social media, prompting local BJP MLA Raj Prasad Upadhyay to seek action against the doctor.

The district magistrate informed the matter to the director general (DG) of health services, who ordered an inquiry.

On Sunday, the additional director (health), Ayodhya division, visited the hospital, conducted an inquiry, and submitted a report recommending action against Prasad.

Acting on the findings, the health department suspended the doctor and attached him to the office of the additional director, health, Ayodhya, according to an official order.

Prasad, however, denied the allegations, saying his remark was taken out of context.

“I had gone there on the SDM’s instruction to receive a memorandum. I did not make the comment with any ill intent. It seems to be a conspiracy,” he said.

Officials said the suspension order cited “indecent and objectionable language” used against the state government, and noted that the doctor was found prescribing medicines from outside pharmacies for the admitted patients, violating department protocol.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Mandal president Shobhnath Yadav filed a complaint at the Jaysinghpur police station, alleging that Prasad’s remark was “an act of indiscipline and gross misconduct by a government servant”.

“Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR and began an investigation,” Inspector Satyendra Kumar Singh said.

The incident followed an ongoing protest by Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Vanshraj Dubey, who had been demonstrating at the hospital since Friday, alleging poor facilities.

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