CPI(ML) and AIPWA on 4 June led statewide protests across Bihar, demanding the resignation of Health Minister Mangal Pandey in connection with the brutal sexual assault and subsequent death of a 10-year-old Dalit girl from Kudhani block, Muzaffarpur. Protesters held the minister directly accountable for the gross medical negligence that followed the sexual assault. The child, referred to Patna’s PMCH for urgent surgery, was left waiting inside an ambulance for hours without treatment—an act of unforgivable administrative apathy, they said, which ultimately led to her death.
In Patna, a march was taken out from GPO Golambar with active participation from student and youth organisations AISA and RYA.
Addressing the gathering, CPI(ML) MLA Gopal Ravidas condemned the incident as a dual failure of the state—first, the brutal assault on a minor girl from a Dalit background; and second, the criminal negligence in her medical treatment. He demanded the immediate resignation of Health Minister Mangal Pandey, holding him morally accountable for the tragedy.
“The state’s largest public hospital, PMCH, failed to provide timely and adequate care to the victim. The gross negligence revealed at PMCH is not only condemnable but a criminal act. It reflects how Bihar’s public healthcare system has become utterly inhumane, especially towards the poor, Dalits and victims of violence,” CPI(ML) MLC Shashi Yadav said.
Although the accused has been arrested, the administration’s delay and insensitivity were laid bare. It was only after a CPI(ML)-led fact-finding team visited the area that the administration sprang into action.
Demonstrations were held in several key district centres including Bihar Sharif, Siwan, Dumraon (Buxar), Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Arrah, and Gaya.
