The Muslim woman doctor whose hijab was allegedly pulled down by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during a public event earlier this week did not report for her assigned duty on Saturday, officials said.
The doctor was scheduled to join the Sabalpur Community Health Centre (CHC) under Patna Sadar by 6 pm on Saturday. However, official sources confirmed that she did not turn up at the designated time.
“Saturday was the final deadline for her to join. If the Health Department issues a revised date extending the joining period, those instructions will be followed accordingly,” an official said.
The incident sparked widespread controversy after a video went viral on social media, showing Nitish Kumar allegedly pulling down the hijab of the Muslim woman doctor during an official government function in Patna.
The footage drew sharp criticism from the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and several political leaders across the country.
Organisations like Amnesty International described it as an “assault on her dignity and identity,” emphasising that no one, especially a public official, has the right to forcibly remove someone’s clothing.
Reacting to the incident, Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari on Saturday strongly condemned the Bihar Chief Minister’s actions and offered the doctor a government job in Jharkhand.
The offer included a monthly salary of Rs 3 lakh, government accommodation, and a posting of her choice.
“I am a doctor first and then a minister. What happened has hurt the entire medical fraternity and sends a wrong message to the country,” Ansari said.
Meanwhile, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan sought to downplay the controversy, describing the Chief Minister’s action as a “fatherly gesture.”
Speaking to reporters, Khan said, “It pains me to hear the word ‘dispute’ in this case. Can there be a dispute between a father and a daughter?” He added that Kumar treats female students like his daughters and questioned the nature of the backlash.
However, the Governor’s remarks drew criticism from several quarters, with many arguing that the incident involved issues of personal dignity, consent, and respect, rather than intent.
Opposition parties, including the RJD and Congress, and critics such as Shashi Tharoor, Mehbooba Mufti, and Omar Abdullah, condemned the incident as a violation of personal dignity, consent, and women’s autonomy.
Many framed it as disrespectful to religious practices, with some explicitly calling it Islamophobic, highlighting it as part of a pattern of public humiliation targeting Muslim women’s attire in India.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti on Friday filed a police complaint against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
In her complaint to the Kothibagh Station House Officer (SHO), requesting the registration of an FIR against the Chief Minister, Mufti said the incident had caused “immense stress” among Muslim women.
She described the act as not merely a “brutal assault” on the doctor but as an attack on “the autonomy, identity and dignity of every Indian woman.”
Mufti further stated, “The forceful stripping of her naqaab isn’t just a brutal assault on a Muslim lady but on the autonomy, identity & dignity of every Indian woman. The fact that it transpired at a time when the deliberate othering, political & economic disempowerment of Muslims all across India is even more disconcerting.”
Earlier, Samajwadi Party leader Sumaiya Rana lodged a complaint at the Kaiserbagh Police Station in Lucknow against Nitish Kumar and Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Sanjay Nishad.
The complaint was submitted by Rana, accompanied by her lawyers, seeking the registration of an FIR.
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