Patna, June 24 (IANS) Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, who was shot by police in an encounter, was in a critical condition when brought to the Shahpur Primary Health Centre (PHC) and hence was “timely” referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) following primary care, the Bhojpur Civil Surgeon said.

Civil Surgeon Shivendra Kumar Sinha further said that he was unaware of what transpired after the patient was taken to the Patna hospital.

Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, a resident of Belauti village in Bhojpur district, died during a police operation conducted on June 17.

Speaking to IANS, Dr Singa said: “The patient was referred to our hospital from our primary treatment centre, the community health centre in Shahpur, where he had initially received treatment. Since the case was serious, he was sent to us.”

Mentioning that the Shahpur PHC had already been informed that the patient was being referred from the community health centre, he said: “It was around 10 a.m. when the patient was brought to our facility. As soon as we received the information, our entire medical team, including the orthopaedic specialist, surgeon, and anaesthetist, was on standby because we knew a major case was being referred to us. We were fully prepared.”

The doctor further said: “The team took him to the Operation Theatre and attempted to treat him. In a way, the patient was sinking here itself. The doctors said that his arteries were ruptured, because of which we could not take a chance, and hence after doing primary care, he was timely referred.”

“We had the information that the patient had safely reached the PMCH,” he added.

“After that, we do not have information about what happened there,” Sinha said.

He said that from Bhojpur, patients who are in critical condition are usually referred to PMCH in Patna.

Regarding Bharat Tiwari’s post-mortem procedure, he said: “The post-mortem was not conducted at our facility, and since he died in Patna, the post-mortem would have been conducted there.”

Notably, according to police, Bharat Tiwari allegedly opened fire on the police team, firing 10 to 12 rounds, which led to retaliatory firing in self-defence.

However, the family and several local residents have alleged that Tiwari had surrendered and was subsequently shot, leading to allegations of a fake encounter.

–IANS

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