An Anganwadi worker in Katihar, Bihar, who was on sick leave, was allegedly forced to appear at her workplace with an IV drip still attached to prove her illness. The incident, captured in a viral video, occurred after a Child Development Project Officer questioned her absence during an inspection.
An ill Anganwadi worker was allegedly forced to show up to work in Katihar, Bihar, with an IV drip to demonstrate her illness. After a video of the event went popular on social media, the incident—which was reported from an Anganwadi center in Narayanpur Panchayat—was made public. In the video, Premlata Hembram is seen coming in a clearly debilitated state, struggling to sit in front of authorities as her husband holds the bottle and a saline drip is hooked to her hand.
Hembram had been on leave due to illness and was undergoing treatment at home. However, during an inspection, Child Development Project Officer Veena Bharti allegedly questioned her absence and asked for proof of her condition.
Employees at the center claim that they were instructed to give the employee a personal call. However, the officer can be heard in the video insisting that she had just requested that they capture pictures or films to document the condition. Hembram went to the center in spite of her illness to prove that she was indeed ill out of fear for her job.
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Since then, the images have drawn criticism from the internet, with many criticising the lack of compassion for frontline employees.
Two accounts of the event have surfaced, according to Katihar District Magistrate Ashutosh Dwivedi. While employees say they were told to phone the employee, the officer says she requested a picture. The issue is being looked upon," he stated.
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He said that the Integrated Child Development Services' District Programme Officer has been instructed to carry out a thorough investigation, and that the results would be used to guide future actions.
