Patna, Jun 24 (IANS): A Bihar court on Monday ordered an investigation into charges of negligence against Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey that left nearly 150 children dead due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur district over the past fortnight.
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Suryakant Tiwari ordered the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate to investigate the charges based on a case filed by social activist Tamanna Hashmi.
Hashmi alleged that the Ministers did nothing to sensitise people in Bihar about AES though the disease had been killing children in the state for years.
Filing the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), she also accused the Ministers of having failed to fulfil their duties to control the outbreak of AES on time.
The court has fixed the next hearing in the case on June 28.