Gopalganj/Patna, May 30: Budhdeo Singh, the doctor posted at the Gopalganj district jail, was beaten to death last night allegedly because he refused to declare some inmates “sick” — a tag that would have prevented their transfer to the security-heavy Buxar prison.

Sources at the district jail in Gopalganj, 160km northwest of Patna, said the seven prisoners who have been identified as Singh’s attackers had all been sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2009 abduction of Class III student Aayush. The judgment had been pronounced on May 18 this year.

The inmates — Ranjan Yadav, Anil Yadav, Gorakh Yadav, Munna Yadav, Surendra Yadav, Harihar Chaudhry and Ajay Kumar — were all part of the Suresh Yadav gang that is active in north Bihar, especially in areas close to the Nepal border.

The jail authorities had, therefore, decided to shift them to the Buxar jail in central Bihar, about 200km away from Gopalganj. The security at the Buxar central jail is heavier than in the district prisons.

A jail official in Gopalganj said the prisoners were opposed to the decision to shift them and had pressured Budhdeo Singh to declare them sick. But the 59-year-old doctor, who was months away from retirement, refused. The prisoners then decided to teach the doctor a lesson.

Ranjan Yadav, an inmate said to be close to Suresh Yadav, called Budhdeo Singh yesterday to the prisoners’ ward on the pretext of seeking medical advice for some fellow prisoners who had complained of developing symptoms of chicken pox. Ranjan alleged that medicines were not being provided to the prisoners and instead were being sold on the black market. The doctor, however, refuted the allegations.

The inmates, led by Munna Yadav and Gorakh Yadav, then pounced on the doctor and started assaulting him. When Budhdeo Singh collapsed unconscious, the attackers returned to their wards.

After about half an hour, the doctor was found lying unconscious and was subsequently admitted to the Sadar hospital in Gopalganj, about 13km away from the jail. As his condition was serious, the doctors there referred him to the Patna Medical College and Hospital. He died on way to the hospital.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose second stint in office has been marked by a rise in incidents of kidnappings and murders, ordered an inquiry by the home secretary. “It is a shocking incident… We won’t tolerate it,” Nitish said this morning.

Home secretary Amir Subhani, who reached Gopalganj in the morning, said the role of the jail administration was under the scanner. “Stern action would be taken against erring officials. Nobody will be spared, whosoever he may be,” Subhani said, adding that he would submit the preliminary inquiry report later in the evening.

Subhani said the doctor was murdered when he had gone to the prison for the treatment of jail inmates. “Doctor saheb ki raksha karne mein hatya ho gayi (the doctor himself fell victim while protecting the lives of others),” he said.

The home secretary, accompanied by Saran division commissioner Indra Sena, deputy inspector-general Sunil Kumar, district magistrate P.K. Pal and superintendent of police K.S. Anupam, spent almost three hours in the jail. He visited the prison wards in which the suspected attackers were lodged.

Subhani said instructions had been issued to ensure that the chargesheet against the seven accused persons was filed within 24 hours. “The case will be put on speedy trial to ensure prosecution of the accused at the earliest,” he said.

Sources said the jail officials had not conducted a search of the premises for a long time. The prisoners were in possession of mobile phones and even called the shots from behind the bars, said an official.

Relatives of Budhdeo Singh alleged that some jail officials were hand-in-glove with the criminals and the doctor had complained about this to the authorities.

Around 3,000 doctors in the government hospitals would abstain from work tomorrow in protest against Budhdeo Singh’s murder.