FIR against 39 villagers in Bihar's Vaishali for protesting against AES deaths, lack of facilities

PATNA: In a shocking development, Bihar Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against 39 people of Harivanshpur village in Vaishali district for staging protest against the government over the deaths of children due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and lack of water facilities in the village.

Talking to ANI, relatives of persons who have been named in the FIR said that villagers have lost their children but the administration has filed FIR against villagers for protesting. The relatives added that men who have been named in the FIR have left the village and gone away to earn livelihood for their families. 

"Our children have died. We did a road gherao, but the administration has filed an FIR against us. Men against whom FIR has been registered have left the village and gone away. They were the only breadwinners," said a relative of a person against whom the FIR has been registered to ANI.

Bihar: Relatives of persons against whom FIR has been registered say ,"Our children have died. We did road gherao, but administration has filed FIR against us. Men against whom FIR has been registered have left the village & gone away. They were the only breadwinners." pic.twitter.com/E0hEhmYwKH — ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2019

ANI reported that people in Harivanshpur village have vacated their homes and moved to other villages after the outbreak of AES, which has so far claimed the lives of 167 children in Bihar. "My two sons died due to Acute Encephalitis in the matter of an hour. The elder one was 7 years old while the younger one was two years old. There were no awareness campaigns by the administration regarding the disease," father of a child who died due to AES told ANI.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ashwini Choubey on Tuesday said that the government is keeping a close watch on the situation arising out AES outbreak in Bihar. He added that team of doctors from Centre and Bihar government are trying their best to control the situation and the government is taking steps to spread awareness towards AES.

"We are keeping an eye on the situation.The team of doctors from Centre & Bihar government are working continuously. The number of deaths have come down. The govt is working towards spreading awareness AES," Choubey told ANI.

Union Min Ashwini Choubey on Acute Encephalitis Syndrome outbreak in Bihar:We are keeping an eye on the situation.The team of doctors from Centre & Bihar government are working continuously. The number of deaths have come down. The govt is working towards spreading awareness AES. pic.twitter.com/bCeCa52WGK — ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2019

It is to be noted that a total of 167 children have lost their lives due to AES in Bihar so far. Muzaffarpur remains the worst-hit district with the viral disease taking the lives of as many as 129 children.

Encephalitis, called 'Chamki' fever in Hindi, is a viral disease, which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions and headaches and has been claiming lives in the district for the past few weeks.