Chhapra, June 1: Angry and anguished, the son and daughter-in-law of slain doctor Budhdeo Singh today threatened to commit self-immolation in front of the chief minister’s residence if the government failed to bring the culprits to book by the time of the shradh on June 12.

Budhdeo Singh, 59, was beaten to death by inmates of the Gopalganj jail on the evening of May 30. The doctor was assaulted allegedly because he refused to issue fake medical certificates declaring the prisoners sick that would have prevented their transfer to the high-security central jail in Buxar.

Seven prisoners, all serving life term in a kidnapping case, have been named in the chargesheet.

The tragic death of the doctor, who was to have retired from service in six months, has cast a shadow of gloom on his ancestral house at Naini village, five kilometres away from Chhapra.

His family members are seething in anger at the brazen attack on a government doctor who was discharging his duties inside a jail which is supposed to be well-guarded.

Budhdeo Singh’s wife Reena Devi has been slipping in and out of consciousness ever since she received news of her husband’s death. Other family members questioned the manner in which the government had so far handled the situation, saying the mere transfer of a few officials was not enough.

The doctor’s son, Ramendra Singh, who works with a pharmaceutical company in Patna, and his wife Namrata Rani said their hopes of justice was fast diminishing.

“We will sit on a dharna and commit self-immolation in front of the chief minister’s house after carrying out the shradh of babuji (father) if the culprits are not brought to justice by then. We doubt if the government is really interested in justice,” the couple said.

“Why has the district magistrate only been transferred and the prison superintendent only been suspended? They should have been dismissed from service,” Ramendra added.

The relatives questioned why the wounded Budhdeo Singh was not taken to Patna for treatment in a helicopter or a plane. “If the home secretary (Amir Subhani) can be sent in a chopper to take stock of the situation after the crime, why was the facility not available for my father who had gone to the jail on official duty,” Ramendra said.

Relatives said the doctor feared a threat to his life.

Budhdeo Singh’s brother PD Singh, also a doctor, said: “My brother would always say that the jail was not safe. It was a den of hardened criminals known for spreading terror.”