Malda: The state health department and police have launched an investigation into a private hospital in Sujapur, under Kaliachak police station, following allegations that it concealed a patient's death for three days while continuing to charge for treatment.Sakirul Islam, 24, a resident of Manikchak, was admitted to the hospital on Friday with abdominal pain. Doctors diagnosed him with a gall bladder issue and performed surgery on Saturday. The family alleges that despite assurances of a minimally invasive procedure, the doctors conducted open surgery instead. Post-operation, Sakirul's condition reportedly deteriorated, prompting the hospital to shift him to the ICU, while barring family visits, raising suspicions about his possible death during surgery."Our repeated inquiries were met with the same reply — that he was doing better — but we were never allowed to see him since Saturday afternoon," said Md Isha, the patient's nephew.On Monday, the family filed online complaints with both the district health administration and Kaliachak police. Later that evening, a health department team's inspection revealed the patient had died. Md Nur Nabi, a relative, said, "We had deposited Rs 55,000 but received no information. If the health department hadn't intervened, we wouldn't have known the truth."The victim's sister, Kulsum Khatun, has filed a police complaint. The body has been sent for postmortem. The hospital management has refused to comment.District magistrate Nitin Singhania said the health department has initiated an inquiry and assured that appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.