Victims of medical negligence await justice

Samad Hoque

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New Delhi, December 12

Shashi Bhushan, a driver from a South Delhi colony, has been waiting for justice for 12 years. His wife underwent a surgery at the Agarwal Medical Centre in Greater Kailash 1 that left her unfit to conceive.

Police to reopen cases

• In November, the Delhi Police arrested four persons after a patient named Asgar Ali lost his life after undergoing operation for gall bladder stone.
• The incident also brought to light previous cases of medical negligence.
• A police official said investigations were underway into current as well as previous cases that were disposed of by the Delhi Medical Council
• The accused allegedly used his parents’ letterheads, who were anaesthesia and gynaecology specialists, when facing legal challenges.

Following the death of a patient, Asgar Ali, who lost his life after undergoing operation for gall bladder stone, Dr Neeraj Agarwal, owner of the centre, was arrested, along with his wife Pooja, former lab technician Mahender, and Dr Jaspreet in November, .

Two middlemen Deepak Sharma and Zulfiqar were also apprehended for their involvement in a scheme, under which patients were brought in for a commission of 30 per cent, the police said.

Bhushan said, “My wife Rinku, who was four-month pregnant at the time, was referred to Agarwal Medical Centre from a clinic.”

Rinku, who was bleeding heavily, underwent a surgery to terminate her pregnancy. A subsequent ultrasound revealed that the skull of the foetus was left inside her. The couple paid an additional amount of Rs 60,000 for another operation.

In 2016, another victim, Rajesh, lost his wife Sunita, at the Safdarjung Hospital, after her condition deteriorated following a surgery to remove stone from her gall bladder at the Agarwal Medical Centre.

In yet another incident in 2018, Kuldeep Singh lost his wife Sapna due to medical negligence at the centre.

He alleged that his pregnant wife was administered multiple painkiller injections. The family was handed over the newborn after a laparoscopic operation at 11.55 pm.

Kuldeep said, “As my wife complained of pain after some time, they administered her another injection and yet another at 1 am. This continued till 4.30 am. The staff later administered shock using automated external defibrillator after she faced difficulty in breathing. We lost her around 5.30 am.”

Kuldeep and Sita were not allowed to meet the patient after the delivery. When Kuldeep finally barged into the room, they found her dead. He added Neeraj even stopped them from attending the meetings at the Delhi Medical Council.

The council had temporarily removed Dr Neeraj’s name from the state medical register , following Rajesh and Kuldeep’s complaints.