Family of mathematician Vashishtha Narayan Singh alleges hospital kept them waiting for ambulance; Twitterati slams Nitish Kumar govt

The family of renowned mathematician Vashishtha Narayan Singh, who passed away at a hospital in Patna on Thursday after a prolonged illness, has alleged that they were kept waiting by hospital authorities for an ambulance to take his body home. Singh, who had been ailing for quite some time, died at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). “No ambulance or vehicle was given to take the body to our home. He died early in the morning at around 8 am,” the brother of Vashishtha Narayan Singh was quoted in a video. The video, which has since then gone viral shows the mathematician’s body lying in a stretcher outside the PMCH.

ये पीएमसीएच कैंपस में महान गणितज्ञ वशिष्ठ नारायण सिंह का पार्थिव शरीर है, जिनके परिजनों को एम्बुलेंस तक मुहैया कराने की औपचारिकता अस्पताल प्रशासन ने नहीं निभाई। शर्मनाक है ये! जिस आदमी की उपलब्धियों पर बिहार समेत देश गर्व करता है, अंत में भी उसके साथ ऐसा व्यवहार? @NitishKumar ??? pic.twitter.com/48yjQFZkHx

— Brajesh Kumar Singh (@brajeshksingh) November 14, 2019

Vashishta’s body has been taken to his native place for a funeral which will be accorded with full state honours. A report in News18 pointed out that while the mathematician’s family were made to wait for an ambulance, a red carpet was rolled out for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar when he went to condole his death.

#NewsAlert – Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was given a red-carpet welcome when he went to condole the demise of mathematician, Vashishtha Narayan Singh. But the deceased’s family alleged they didn’t get an ambulance for transferring his mortal remains. | @prabhakarjourno with details. pic.twitter.com/lj80vtvEpw

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 14, 2019

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Several Opposition leaders have slammed the Nitish Kumar government over the alleged disrespect shown to the mathematician. The RJD, one of the main Opposition parties in Bihar, also questioned the state government, saying that “every resident of Bihar has to face this insensitivity in every government or private hospital”. “Not expecting any special arrangement or behaviour, but is it so difficult or expensive to consider a person a human being?” the party said in a tweet featuring an interview with the mathematician’s brother.

"कहें तो किससे कहें? अंधों के सामने रोना..."

वशिष्ठ बाबू अकेले नहीं हैं, बिहार के हर नागरिक को हर सरकारी या निजी अस्पताल में इसी संवेदनहीनता का सामना करना पड़ता है!

कोई विशेष व्यवस्था या व्यवहार की उम्मीद नहीं कर रहा पर इंसान को इंसान मानना इतना मुश्किल या महंगा है नीतीश बाबू? pic.twitter.com/lfMgSuYyPr

— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) November 14, 2019

Former AAP leader and poet Kumar Vishvas said, “How could Bihar become so stone-hearted towards a man who made the world bow to his intelligence? Why should Mother India give such meritorious sons to this country when we cannot even take care of them?” Born on 2 April, 1942, in Basantpur village of Bhojpur district in Bihar, Singh did his schooling from Netarhat school in undivided Bihar. He studied at Patna Science College after which he went to the University of California in 1965 and completed his PhD on cycle vector space theory in 1969. He worked for a brief period in NASA and later returned to India in 1971 to teach at IIT Kanpur. Singh also taught at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata. He was also a visiting professor at BN Mandal University, Madhepura. With inputs from agencies