The acting dean of Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded and another doctor have been booked for culpable homecide not amounting to murder over the death of a woman and her infant at the hospital.
In the FIR registered at the Nanded Gramin police station, Dr Wakode and the chief doctor of the paediatric department were booked on the complaint of Kamaji Mohan Tompe, 40, a farmer from Kandhar, Nanded, and father of Anjali Manchek Waghmare, 22, who died Wednesday unaware about the death of her newborn daughter two days ago. They were booked under sections 304 (culpable homecide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common interest) of the Indian Penal Code.
Anjali was first rushed to a primary healthcare centre by her family, from where she was referred to a sub-district hospital. Since her condition was not improving, the family followed the doctor’s instructions and took her to the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital on September 30 and admitted her to Ward 19.
“She delivered a baby girl early on October 1, and at that time, my daughter and her infant were normal. But after a few hours, doctors informed me that Anjali was experiencing bleeding and that her condition was worsening.
Doctors asked us to get blood packets. When we arranged blood and went to the ward to give them to doctors and staff, no one was there,” Tompe stated in the FIR.
“I met Dr Wakode and told him that there was no doctor or staff to look after my daughter. I was made to wait for long. No doctor or staff were sent to the patient. When I followed up on the matter with Dr Wakode, I was abused and thrown out. I was not even allowed to meet my daughter and her newborn,” he added.
“A long time passed but no treatment was given to my daughter or her newborn. Despite knowing that the patient’s condition was not good, doctors and nurses were not sent to treat the patient. As a result, the infant died on October 2 at 6 am. On October 4, at 10.30 am, Anjali, too, died,” Tompe stated in the FIR.
According to Anjali’s brother Nagnath Tompe, “Since my sister’s health was not in good condition, we didn’t inform her about her newborn’s death. But she also died during treatment.”
At the hospital, the family members were struggling to console Anjali’s mother who was grieving her daughter’s death.
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“My family and relatives are in deep grief and don’t know how to handle a situation where two of your family members died in just a matter of three days,” Tompe said. Anjali was living lives with her husband, Manchek, who works in a brick factory.
“We are not clearly told the reasons for the deaths of my sister and her child. Doctors just said that child died due to contaminated water in her mouth, while Anjali died due to excessive bleeding. We had bought 14–15 packets of blood, but still, my sister could not be saved,” said Tompe.
Anjali’s father stated in his complaint that they bought medicines and blood packets worth Rs 45,000 from outside.
The police will soon record statement of the dean and the other doctor who has not been named in the FIR.
