Agartala: The Tripura government ordered an inquiry into the death of a minor in Agartala Govt Medical College hospital on Thursday allegedly due to medical negligence.
However, to maintain peace a large contingent of police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawans were deployed inside the hospital.
According to the report, Ayush Malakar (10) a resident of Khayerpur in Mohanpur near Agartala was suffering from a problem in his urinary tract. The family sought medication from a surgeon in the city identified as Dr Pritam Das in his private chamber in the city.
Dr Das scheduled an operation for Ayush at the medical college hospital last week but allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh for the procedure and the family claims to have paid only Rs 10,000 to the doctor. But on the scheduled date he did not proceed with the surgery and rescheduled it for December 28.
Allegedly, the accused doctor was pressurizing the parents to pay his dues before proceeding with surgery but they paid half amount and promised to clear the committed money before Ayush got released from the hospital.
Accordingly, Ayush was admitted to the hospital on December 27, and allegedly they had to buy medicines and other auxiliary items for the surgery procedure from Dr Pritam Das’s clinic. But during the operation on the next day, Ayush was pronounced dead on the operating table, and the accused doctor fled away without meeting the patient’s party.
“Almost after 30 minutes when we were waiting outside the operation theatre to meet the doctor, an attendant came out and informed us that Ayush died on the operation table. We were prevented by the security staff from getting inside and found our doctor. After a long time, they brought the body and almost pushed us out issuing a death certificate,” alleged the deceased father Apurba Malakar.
Ayush’s death sparked a reaction in the hospital and immediately security personnel rushed to manage the situation but police have not yet registered any formal complaint of medical negligence. However, the health department sought a report from the hospital superintendent and ordered an inquiry into the allegations.
