By IANS
Kolkata : A seven-year-old girl in West Bengal died waiting for treatment as a senior doctor allegedly beat up his junior colleague for waking him up early in the morning.
Jhunu Bayen was rushed to the Gokarna block hospital in Murshidabad, around 225 km from here, with high temperature and breathing problems. The medical officer, Biswajit Roy, who attended to the girl, felt Jhunu needed to be put on oxygen immediately and referred her to the Behrampore hospital.
But as the girl’s father, Mukul, pleaded with them to arrange some transport to take his daughter to Behrampore, Roy sent a woman to the block medical officer of health (BMOH) Sukhendu Biswas’s house for permission to use the hospital ambulance.
Irritated at being woken up from sleep, Biswas rushed to the hospital and allegedly rained blows on Roy, local media reports said.
“The BMOH came to the hospital and sought an explanation as to why I had spoiled his sleep. He rained blows on me and hurled a chair at me,” Roy alleged.
Stunned at the behaviour of the doctors, the family waited for the first bus to leave for Behrampore at 5 a.m. Monday, but Jhunu died in the morning.
“I lost my daughter as the doctors fought among themselves without arranging treatment for her,” said Purnima, Jhunu’s mother.
West Bengal Health Minister Surjya Kanta Mishra has sought a report on the incident from Mangobinda Mondal, chief medical officer of health (CMOH), Murshidabad.
About 500 villagers later staged a demonstration in front of the Gokarna block medical hospital, demanding immediate punishment for Biswas.