Patna: Mohammad Nayim Ansari will not be able to walk again. A resident of Purani Kazi locality in Aurangabad district headquarters town, Nayim, 42, is disabled after a bullet fired by a police constable to rein in alleged rioters during the Ram Navami procession on March 26 hit him, leaving him with a spinal cord injury.
"I am bed-ridden. Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-New Delhi say that I will not be able to walk in future. My family is on the brink of starvation and I was the lone breadwinner. And now I am disabled forever," a visibly upset Nayim, a former driver of a private ambulance, told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
Nayim suffered a bullet injury in his abdomen while he was heading home for after parking his ambulance on the premises of the Aurangabad Sadar hospital. Around 3.30am, a procession passing through the town was pelted with stones. "This led to the mob setting at least 20 shops on fire and causing damage to scores of others," Nayim, a father of three minors, recalled.
He was rushed to the Sadar hospital in Aurangabad from where he was referred to the Gaya and then Patna Medical College and Hospital. "I remained at PMCH for two days and was then referred to AIIMS-New Delhi, from where I returned last week. Since then, nobody from the district administration has come to inquire about my health or provided me any financial assistance," Nayim regretted.
He, however, thanked chief minister Nitish Kumar for providing him medical treatment at government expense. "Since I am unable to do anything, the government should provide financial assistance to my family for survival. The family has no other means of livelihood," Nayiml said.
What came as a rude shock for Nayim was the ill-treatment meted out to him by the local police. "The manner in which Aurangabad town police station house officer (SHO) Rajesh Barnawal behaved with me after my return from Delhi is highly objectionable. He behaved as if I am a criminal and have committed a crime," Nayim rued.
"It's a well-known fact that I was injured in police firing and was not a part of the mob that had attacked the procession. Some residents came forward to help me and got me admitted to the hospital on that fateful day. The incident has left me physically handicapped for the rest of my life."
Aurangabad superintendent of police (SP) Satya Prakash promised to look into Nayim's genuine demands and apprise the government. The situation had deteriorated to such an extent in Aurangabad, around 140km south-east of Patna, that the district administration clamped prohibitory orders and suspended internet services.
