Controversy erupts at govt hospital in Bihar after rats "bite" toes of patient

Patna: The state-run Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in Bihar has landed in controversy, after a specially abled patient undergoing treatment at the medical facility claimed that rats had bitten toes of his right foot while he was asleep.

The incident took place on Saturday night in the Orthopedics wing of NMCH, and it came to light after his family members alerted the hospital administration.

“We have come to know about the incident… It has been brought to the notice of the medical superintendent,” said Dr Om Prakash, head of the Orthopedics Department.

The patient, Awadesh Kumar, told reporters that when he woke up on Sunday morning, he noticed that toes of his right foot were bitten by rats.

“I saw that the fingers were bleeding. My family members also noticed it and informed the nurses and other medical staff. Rats have been creating havoc here,” Kumar said.

Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey could not be reached for comments over the matter.

Reacting to the incident, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, in a post on X said: “In Patna’s NMCH, a specially abled patient’s fingers were bitten by rats. Recently, rats had gnawed the eye of a deceased person in the same hospital... and no action was taken against anyone.” The RJD leader alleged that the healthcare apparatus of Bihar is in ruins.

पटना के (NMCH) नालंदा मेडिकल कॉलेज अस्पताल में भर्ती दिव्यांग मरीज जो रात के समय गहरी नींद में थे तो उनके पैर की उंगलियों को चूहे ने कुतर दिया। इसी अस्पताल में बीते दिनों एक मृतक की आंख को चूहे ने कुतर दिया था लेकिन किसी पर अभी तक कोई कारवाई नहीं हुई।

अंदरखाने RSS/BJP के CM… pic.twitter.com/Bej7YkjcXq

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) May 20, 2025

“Health Minister Mangal Pandey has ruined the healthcare system in the state that we had improved and nurtured over our 17-month tenure. A department that cannot even ensure cleanliness and safety in its hospitals — where a perfectly healthy person would fall ill — how will it treat patients? “I am sure they will make a presentation before the chief minister, claiming that the patient’s fingers weren’t nibbled by rats but surgically removed by a state-of-the-art robotic machine worth crores,” Yadav said.

In November 2024, an eye of a man who succumbed to bullet injuries at NMCH was found missing hours after his death, with doctors blaming rats for gnawing it and family members of the deceased suspecting foul play.

The state health department, which initiated an investigation into the matter, had suspended two nurses for “negligence”.