The West Bengal CID has interrogated seven junior doctors suspended for their alleged role in the “expired Ringer’s Lactate saline” case and other irregularities at the Midnapore Medical College and Hospital (MMCH). According to investigations till now, new mothers were administered expired Ringer’s Lactate saline, leading to the death of one new mother while three others are critical.
According to CID sources, the agency has been looking into who had instructed the junior doctors to perform the deliveries. Sources said the CID also found that junior doctors would allegedly give proxy for senior doctors who would allegedly work privately during their duty hours at the government-run MMCH.
The agency is now looking into who these doctors were and for how long the alleged practice of giving proxy was on. The CID has already seized the duty register of the hospital and is examining CCTV footage.
At the medical college, four new mothers were allegedly administered expired Ringer’s Lactate saline on January 8. A day later, Mamoni Rui Das’s health began to deteriorate, and she died on January 10. The others — Mampi Singh, Nasreen Khatun, Minara Bibi, and Rekha Sau — were in critical condition. Singh, Khatun, and Minara were referred to the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata after their condition worsened.
After the state government ordered a probe into the incident, a team of state experts and CID officials headed by a DSP rank police officer visited the hospital and submitted a report to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Based on that, on January 16, Banerjee suspended 12 doctors, including the medical superintendent and six postgraduate trainee doctors for “clear cases of medical negligence”.
Sources said that last week, the CID had summoned senior doctors Dr Himadri Nayek and Dr Dilip Pal for interrogations at Bhabani Bhawan to see if they were on duty on January 8.
Earlier this week, Resident Medical Officer Soumen Das was questioned about his whereabouts and role during the incident. It is alleged that Das was not present on the day.
Meanwhile, senior resident doctor of MMCH Pallavi Bandhopadhay, who is an anaesthetist, had moved Calcutta High Court on Wednesday, alleging that the CID was trying to “falsely implicate” her instead of probing the nature of the saline. The court has called for a case diary.