BIHAR Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Friday that action is being taken on the findings of The Indian Express. research that revealed glaring gaps in the state’s Covid testing data, including when his government suspended nine members of the health staff, including five senior officials, in the Jamui district from where “irregularities were detected … in particular.” The Center has requested a “detailed report” from the Bihar government on the findings.
This came on the day when RJD MP Manoj Jha referred to The Indian Express’ reports on the Rajya Sabha and demanded “a high-level investigation.” In response, Rajya Sabha President Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu suggested to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan that the issue “is a research issue.”
A senior central government official told The Indian Express that the Union Ministry of Health has sent a letter to the Bihar government requesting “a detailed report on the matter.”
In Patna, Prime Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters: “I found out about the anomalies in the Covid tests. I have requested complete information from the Department of Health and have been assured of a thorough investigation. Measures are being taken … The irregularities were detected in one place (Jamui) in particular. “
State Health Minister Mangal Pandey said among those suspended were Dr. Vijyendra Satyarthi, Jamui Civil Surgeon, District Programs Officer Sudhanshu Lal and District Immunization Officer Dr. Vimal Kumar Choudhary. Officials who ran two primary health centers in Jamui, Barhat PHC Medical Officer in Charge NK Mandal and Sikandara PHC Medical Officer in Charge Mohammed Sajid Hussain, were also suspended, in addition to four junior employees.
Referring to reports from The Indian Express, Jha from RJD, whose party is in the Opposition in Bihar, said during Zero Hour: “For the past two days, a major national newspaper has been running stories about the manipulation and falsification of data from Covid testing in Bihar. Surprisingly, the test figures crossed 1 lakh in seven days, and then crossed 2 lakh in another 14 days. It has been discovered that many columns of the test data have been left blank. Tracing contracts is difficult because mobile phone numbers with ten zeros have been entered along with the names and, in many cases, people’s names and mobile phone numbers do not match. “
Jha said, “I want to demand … a high-level investigation into this.”
The deputy also suggested that government agencies use the Aadhaar card, PAN card and other valid documents to ensure that “no one can make fun of the health system in this way.”
In response, Naidu referred to the Union Health Minister and suggested that he might “look into it.”
As part of its investigation, The Indian Express visited six PHCs in Jamui, Sheikhpura and Patna, and accessed their evidence logs for January 16, 18 and 25. He tracked 885 entries in these PHCs and spoke with several employees to find that the data protocol was bypassed in a fight to meet the daily goal, from fake mobile numbers to fake names to unreliable entries.
Bihar was one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic with the return of more than 20 lakhs of migrant workers when infections peaked in the middle of last year. So far, the state has recorded 2,61,568 positive cases, with 700 active cases and 1,521 Covid-related deaths.
While Patna tops the state’s Covid list with more than 52,500 cases so far, the Jamui and Sheikhpura records show how, in several cases, the mobile phone numbers provided for examinees were owned by unrelated individuals from other districts or state. In some cases, multiple unrelated people were listed under one number. In a few cases, the figures used were those of APS staff themselves.
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