Surat: Row erupts after hospital staff among others ‘offer prayers’ to Asaram’s photo

Later, they were reportedly joined by a few nurses, security guards and a professor and head of the pediatric ward — Dr Jigisha Patadiya.The NCH medical superintendent, Dharitri Parmar, and the resident medical officer (RMO), Dr Ketan Naik, were out of the campus and were informed by security supervisor R K Singh.

The medical superintendent told The Indian Express on Tuesday, “I am out of the town and I came to know about the incident from the security supervisor. I ordered him to remove all the people who were present at the spot. The initial inquiry revealed the followers had not obtained any official permission… We have suspended three security guards on duty.”

The RMO condemned the incident and said it shouldn’t have happened. He said, “One of our staff members had called me and sought permission for distributing fruits to patients by Asaram’s followers, to which we agreed. However, no permission was taken for putting up the photo and pooja on the hospital premises.”

Sources said that someone also took a video of the puja, which was shared widely on social media platforms. No inquiry has been initiated, and no police complaint has been filed as of now.

– with PTI inputs