Grieving kin perform last rites sans autopsy
GORAKHPUR: Mohammad Zahid, whose 7-year-old daughter Khushi was among the 31 children who lost their lives in 48 hours allegedly due to disruption of oxygen supply at BRD Medical College, was inconsolable while performing her last rites at a local graveyard in Bichchia area on Saturday.
Like most of the other victims, Khushi’s body was taken away by her parent for the last rites as the administration didn’t care to carry out autopsy — a process which could have helped them ascertain the exact cause of death. Khushi was admitted to BRD Medical College after she complained of high fever and vomiting.
When her body taken home on Saturday morning, her family members and neighbours broke into tears. Amid mourning, they cursed the hospital administration for failing to protect save Khushi. Till late Friday evening, Zahid and his wife were seen roaming around the medical college ICU as, like other parents, they were not allowed to enter the wards after news of deaths spread like wildfire.
“My daughter died on Friday noon but doctors disclosed it to me only late in the night. Like other children she died due to lack of oxygen,” said Zahid.
“She was admitted around 12.30 am and was alright till the time she was getting proper oxygen supply. Her body turned cold and stiff when they began oxygen supply through a bag and asked us to continuously press it. Hours later she became breathless and her body stopped doing any activity. While it was evident that she is dead, doctors kept on telling me that she is still alive,” said Zahid, who is a daily wager.
Like Zahid, Deep Chand, a mason from Basti too performed the last rites of his new born baby without autopsy on Saturday.
Brought to hospital three days back, his kid too died around 3 pm on Friday.
“I realised that my son has died on Friday noon as there was no movement in his body but doctor instead asked us to pump his body in the absence of oxygen but to no avail,” he said.
“He was my only son born after four years of our marriage,” he told HT while breaking into tears even as his grandfather Gamru kept blaming the doctors for the tragedy.
“It was after a lot of prayers and medical treatment that his wife gave birth to this child. The entire family was very happy. Who knew the happiness would be so short-lived,” said Avdhesh Yadav, gram pradhan of Deep Chand’s village.
He too slammed the BRD Medi- cal College for the tragedy.
In both the cases, the BRD administration had not carried out autopsy and cited reasons other than shortage of oxygen as the cause behind the deaths.
“The reason behind the deaths has already been mentioned in the death certificates and so no autopsy has been carried out,” said a junior doctor, on condition of anonymity.