Patna: The health department has ordered a probe into alleged violation of rules in the appointment of a professor and two associate professors at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna.

The IGIMS director has been asked to conduct the probe and submit a report within a fortnight on the basis of which the health department would take action.

Health minister Mangal Pandey informed the Legislative Council about the department's move while replying to a call attention motion moved by RJD MLC Sanjay Prasad on Tuesday.

"We would take action in this case after getting the inquiry report and the IGIMS director has been asked to conduct a probe and submit his report within a fortnight," Pandey said.

Sanjay, in his call attention motion, had mentioned that a professor was appointed giving benefits of reservation rules even though the post was of the unreserved category.

His motion mentioned that the person appointed for the post didn't have the requisite experience.

The motion also mentioned about alleged irregularities in appointment of two associate professors at IGIMS and maintained that both appointees didn't have the requisite experience for the posts.

The RJD MLC maintained that even the Medical Council of India, the national regulatory body for doctors, had said the appointment of the professor was wrong.

Sanjay maintained that in August 2016, the health department had constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter but the investigation did not happen as one of the officials, who was a committee member, had been transferred.

Sanjay's motion mentioned the names of the three appointees, but The Telegraph is nolt reproducing the names since a probe is on into their appointments

Name change call

The health department on Tuesday said it would go through the rules before taking any decision to name the state Ayurvedic and Unani Research Centre in Patna after chief minister Nitish Kumar's father, the late Kaviraj Ramlakhan Singh.

The research centre is part of the state Ayurvedic College located in the Kadamkuan area of Patna.

Health minister Mangal Pandey informed the Council about the department's decision while replying to a call attention motion moved by JDU MLC C.P. Sinha.

"We have sought guidelines from the general administration department on this issue," Pandey informed the Upper House of the state legislature.

Sinha, in support of his motion, said that Ramlakhan Singh not only studied in the college but was also a member of its governing body from 1927 to 1932.

Justifying his demand to rename the centre after the chief minister's father, JDU MLC Sinha also recalled Nitish's late father's contribution to the freedom movement of the country.