PATNA, Jan. 8 -- Dr Nusrat Parveen, a young Unani doctor who came into the spotlight after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar tugged at her hijab during an appointment-letter distribution ceremony in Patna on December 15, joined the Bihar government service on Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday. Dr Parveen reported for duty at Patna Sadar Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Sabalpur, 22 days after the controversy and on the penultimate day of the extended joining deadline. "Dr Parveen joined the Patna Sadar PHC at Sabalpur yesterday. As per her posting letter, she was to join the Patna Sadar PHC, which she did on Tuesday. I have no information on any further extension of the deadline," said Patna civil surgeon Dr Avinash Kumar Singh. State Health Society, Bihar (SHSB), had on December 31 extended the deadline for newly appointed AYUSH doctors to join service till January 7. This marked the second extension, after the original deadline of December 20. The government had cited requests from candidates who had not joined service as the reason for the extensions in a notice by SHSB executive director Amit Kumar Pandey. However, sources said the repeated extensions were the result of back-channel discussions at senior levels to persuade Dr Parveen to take up the assignment in the aftermath of the controversy. A graduate in Unani medicine and daughter of Md Siraj Khan, Dr Parveen was among the 223 candidates shortlisted in the Unani stream for AYUSH medical officer posts advertised in May 2025. The government had advertised a total of 2,619 AYUSH medical officer posts, including 1,411 in Ayurveda, 706 in Homeopathy and 502 in Unani. Dr Parveen has been appointed on a contractual basis under Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) with a consolidated monthly remuneration of Rs.32,000. The national programme focuses on improving child health by screening children from birth to 18 years for four categories - birth defects, diseases, deficiencies and developmental delays - covering 32 common health conditions. She will be visiting schools and anganwadi centres to screen children and facilitate early detection and free treatment, including surgeries at tertiary healthcare facilities. An alumna of the Government Tibbi College and Hospital, Patna, Dr Parveen drew national attention after a video of the December 15 incident went viral on social media, prompting opposition leaders to demand an apology from the CM. Dr Parveen did not respond to phone calls or text messages....