Guwahati: Nurse’s arrest at GMCH sparks protest

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kamrup (M), on Wednesday remanded Bhanupriya Mishong to three-day police custody in connection with the death of a newborn at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).

Mishong, the sister-in-charge of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), was detained by Bhangagarh Police on Tuesday night and formally arrested the next day. DCP (East) Mrinal Deka said that the investigation revealed negligence on her part. She has been booked under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A case (No. 140/25) was registered at Bhangagarh Police Station, and investigators are examining the DVR footage as part of the inquiry.

Soon after her arrest, several nurses gathered at the police station in protest. While talking to media, the nurses questioned why only one individual was being held accountable when multiple staff members were on duty that night.

According to the protesting nurses, five nurses and three doctors had been assigned to the NICU, but only one nurse was present in the room where the incident occurred. They also alleged that the unit was overcrowded, with 35 newborns admitted against the sanctioned capacity of 26. In addition, one of the infant warmers was reportedly non-functional, which compounded the challenges.

Colleagues further claimed that Mishong had briefly stepped out to prepare milk when the incident took place. “If accountability has to be fixed, it should be applied equally to everyone on duty,” the nurses asserted.

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