Jalandhar Civil Hospital staff 'dump' man outside Raen Basera, readmitted by shopkeepers

After the recent uproar over two men being abandoned outside the Raen Basera (night shelter) under the Domoriah Bridge in Jalandhar on November 23, the Civil Hospital staff have again come under attack by residents over the similar plight of another patient in January this year.

Members of the Sant Cinema Shopkeepers Association have written to the National Human Rights Commission as well as the DC, Jalandhar, demanding an inquiry and action against the erring staff of the hospital regarding a patient, who was allegedly abandoned outside the night shelter (under Domoriah bridge) on the night of January 6. The association members got the patient admitted again the same night.

Shop owners have questioned the repeated abandoning of patients outside the night shelter in the extreme cold winter.

As per the complaint by the shopkeepers' association, a patient, Raja Babu, had been under treatment at the hospital but was dropped outside the Raen Basera under the Domoriah Bridge in Jalandhar by the hospital staff on the night of January 6. The complaint states that the ailing man was unable to walk and was appealing to be taken back to the hospital again.

According to the patient, he had been admitted to the hospital for two months. The complaint argues that contrary to the claims that he left the Civil Hospital himself, the man was unable to walk. Similarly, two men Anmol And Vijay had also been dropped outside the Raen Basera in November.

The complaint says, "The act of the hospital is inhumane. We demand that the matter be inquired into and the erring hospital staff be acted against."

While Raja Babu was taken to the Civil Hospital by members of the shopkeepers association on the night of January 6 itself (where he is currently under treatment), the members also submitted a memorandum to the DC on the issue on January 7. Previously, too, in the November 2024 case, the shopkeepers' association had taken the two men to the hospital, where one of them had subsequently died.

A video of Raja Babu was shared on social media where the scantily clad elderly man sits wrapped in a blanket by the roadside and says he can't eat or get up.

Shopkeeper Lalit Mehta said, "These kind of cases last happened in 2020 and are happening again since November 2024. This man was left at 7 pm, he was sick and miserable. Unable to walk, he would have died if left unattended in the night. We called the 108 ambulance on the night of January 6 itself and took him back to the hospital, where I accompanied him in a car. I got his file made only after which I returned. Till 1 am, the police also kept calling me for details. The biggest question is who dropped an infirm, under-treatment patient in the open on a December night, and why?"

Civil Surgeon Gurmeet Lal said, "As per staff, the patient went from the Civil Hospital himself without informing the staff. Also, repeatedly in such cases, these patients are found to be on their own, with no attendants or family members. At times, they are abandoned by someone who later vanishes. We are aware of such cases and through links with the District Social Security Officer, we are working to find a more concrete solution to such cases."

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'Raen Baseras not taking people in'

Members of the Sant Cinema Shopkeepers Association say that another problem is that the night shelter under Domoriah Bridge is accepting people only if they have an Aadhaar card. Due to this, many infirm and ailing are forced to spend chilly nights in the open. “At least 20 to 25 elderly babas or ascetics sleep in the nights on pavements as the night shelter does not provide shelter to them,” said a member of the association.