New Delhi: Health minister Tej Pratap Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav found themselves in the thick of another controversy after it was revealed on Monday that three doctors were deputed from a government hospital at their residence for over a week because someone in his family had fever.

It was later known that the staff was deployed to monitor and treat Lalu.

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) medical superintendent's office had issued a letter by which head of the general medicine department of the hospital Naresh Kumar, additional medical superintendent Krishna Gopal and deputy medical superintendent Aman Kumar were deputed at 10 Circular Road from May 31 to June 8.

 A copy of the IGIMS letter,

Two IGIMS staff nurses, Anil Saini and Vikram Charan, were also deputed at the house where RJD chief Lalu Prasad and wife Rabri Devi live with their children including Tej Pratap and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

ABP News and The Telegraph, Calcutta procured a copy of the IGIMS letter, but it does not state why the doctors and nurses were deputed at the minister's residence.

The IGIMS administration said it had got a request from the health minister, who is also chairman of the governing body of IGIMS.

"We had got a request from the health minister to depute doctors for one of his relatives who was said to be suffering from high fever," said IGIMS medical superintendent Prabhat Kumar Sinha.

Sinha refused to disclose who the patient. “A hospital does not function just with three doctors,” he told ABP News.

"Disclosing the patient's name is unethical," he said when asked. "Even Mohammad Ali Jinnah's doctor did not reveal his patient's identity when he (Jinnah) was being treated for tuberculosis."

Sinha, however, claimed that the doctors were not deputed full time at 10 Circular road and they used to visit twice a day.

Tej Pratap could not be contacted despite several calls to his phone, and neither could any of the doctors concerned.

Hospital sources said though there is no shortage of doctors there, the sheer number of patients every day puts immense pressure on doctors and increases the wait time of those visiting IGIMS for medical help.

The Opposition pounced on the issue to criticise Tej Pratap and said that at a time when there was a crisis of doctors in government health set-ups, the minister's move of hogging three physicians for his private duty was tantamount to betraying the poor.

"Lalu is not all concerned about patients suffering in hospitals. He should have been admitted to a hospital if he was so unwell.Health facilities are already not in a good shape in the state. I believe CM Nitish Kumar should question Tej Pratap about the matter," senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi told ABP News in a telephonic coversation.

"The health minister has cheated the poor people of the state," said senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav. "We have seen various reports in newspapers these days, including reports of people carrying the dead bodies of their relatives on motorcycles because of not being provided with ambulance, and about the drug crisis in government hospitals. All this proves that the health department is in a shambles."

This is not the first time Tej Pratap faces allegations of misuse of privilege.

In April this year, he had got a fully equipped 108 ambulance - with a ventilator, ECG machine, defibrillator and paramedical staff - stationed outside 10 Circular Road in apparent violations of his entitlements.

A day after The Telegraph reported about it on April 8, the government had withdrawn the ambulance.

In February, Patna zoo officials had released a peacock and a peahen at 10 Circular Road, which apparently flew away. Tej also holds the forest department portfolio.