Controversy over Death of Tea Community Infant, Tinsukia

Our Correspondent

TINSUKIA: Death of an infant belonging to the tea community has created a controversy. While Assam Cha Jonogusthee Jatiya Mohasabha (ACJJM) alleged that the three-month infant died due to alleged negligence of Tinsukia Civil Hospital doctors, the hospital sources informed that the attending doctor at OPD declared the infant brought dead.

The memorandum submitted by the ACJJM to the Deputy Commissioner of Tinsukia stated that on October 25, a three-month-old infant of Mongol Mura and Tuchu Mura of Chuto Tingrai under Bordubi PS was admitted to GNB Civil Hospital at around 1.30 pm after the tea garden hospital referred the case to the Civil Hospital at 11 am. The attending doctors, after examining the child twice, declared him dead even as the parents noticed some symptoms of life in the child. Not satisfied, they admitted the child at a private hospital (Life Line) in Tinsukia. There the attending doctor declared the baby as alive and advised them to take the baby to AMCH, Dibrugarh. The baby died on the way to the medical college, the memorandum stated. The ACJJM demanded legal action against the negligent doctor, compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the bereaved family and special measures for tea tribe patients. They even resorted to road blockade at Duliajan –Tinsukia Road for one-and-a half hours on Friday.

But the events stated in the memorandum did not corroborate with certain facts that emerged later. The Civil Hospital sources said the infant was examined at OPD around noon without having been registered by the parents and the doctor declared the patient as brought dead. The parents took the dead child to their home for rituals. The parents, after observing some burping symptoms, rushed the child to GNB Civil Hospital again where attending doctors in Causality Department declared the child as brought dead. Not satisfied, the parents took the child to a leading paediatrician who advised the parents to admit the child in Life Line Hospital where he is a consultant paediatrician.

The child was attended by few nurses and attendants without any doctors who allegedly administered oxygen before transferring the patient to AMCH, Dibrugarh. The AMCH doctors allegedly told the parents in the most casual manner that the child died a couple of hours back which led to confusion. The parents and the relatives had reasons to believe the negligence of doctors.

The most intriguing fact of the episode was ‘the child did not develop rigor mortis even after 30 hours till post-mortem’ that led to confusion. A source in the hospital said that the child perhaps died in the morning of October 25 when they took the child to Chuto Tinrai garden hospital. To avoid problems and complexities, the attending staff referred the case to GNB Civil Hospital.