CMO abduction: UP minister resigns

Lucknow, Oct 12: Under fire for allegedly abducting the top medical officer of Gonda,

Minister of State for Revenue Vinod Kumar Singh resigned today.

"I have sent my resignation to the Chief Minister as I am a devoted worker of SP. I will continue to provide my services to the people of the state and my constituency Gonda as an MLA," Singh told PTI.

Asked as to why he was stepping down, Singh said, "I think some people are trying to malign the image of the party taking my name and I don't want this to happen."

Asked about his involvement in the abduction of the CMO, Vinod Singh alias Pandit Singh maintained that he was innocent. The state government had yesterday ordered a high-level inquiry into the alleged abduction of the chief medical officer of Gonda SP Singh.

Sources in the government said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav had taken strong note of the media reports in this regard.

According to the reports, the CMO was allegedly abducted by the Minister as he was "unhappy" over the refusal to accommodate his nominees on the list of doctors on contract recruited by the district health department under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

PTI