'Expired' saline incident: Suspended physician seeks Calcutta HC intervention, alleging CID harassment
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Synopsis
Kolkata, Jan 22 (NationPress) Pallabi Bandopadhyay, a suspended doctor from West Midnapore, has taken her case to the Calcutta High Court, claiming harassment by the CID amid investigations into saline-related deaths.
Key Takeaways
- Pallabi Bandopadhyay alleges CID harassment.
- 12 doctors suspended over saline-related deaths.
- Expired Ringer’s Lactate linked to incidents.
- Calcutta HC to hear the case on January 27.
- Junior doctors end strike after assurances.
Kolkata, Jan 22 (NationPress) Pallabi Bandopadhyay, one of the 12 suspended doctors from a government hospital in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, has approached the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday, claiming that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is subjecting her to harassment.
The physician has accused the CID of overstepping its bounds while conducting a parallel investigation into the saline-related fatalities of two individuals at the hospital earlier this month.
The group of 12 doctors, which includes six senior and six junior members, faced suspension due to allegations of negligence resulting in the two deaths.
This situation arose alongside serious claims that the fatalities were linked to the use of expired Ringer’s Lactate.
In addition to suspending these doctors, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has initiated two separate investigations: one by a committee of clinical experts from the state health department and another by a CID team.
On Wednesday, Bandopadhyay filed her plea with the Calcutta High Court, asserting that the CID is engaging in unwarranted actions under the guise of investigation and is seeking protection against coercion for the suspended doctors.
In her petition, Bandopadhyay pointed out that a preliminary inquiry has already indicated that the use of expired Ringer’s Lactate may be the cause of the deaths, yet CID officials are improperly trying to place the blame on the doctors.
The Calcutta High Court has accepted the petition, and the case is expected to be heard on January 27.
In a related development, junior doctors associated with the hospital announced their decision to end their partial strike after receiving assurances from the Chief Minister's office regarding the potential revocation of their suspensions.
Earlier this month, five women reportedly fell ill at the hospital after receiving expired Ringer's Lactate.
The first to fall victim was Mamoni Ruidas, followed by the newborn child of Rekha Shaw, another affected woman, both of whom tragically died.
As public outrage grew over the allegations of administering expired Ringer’s Lactate from Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, the Chief Minister publicly stated that the negligence of the attending doctors was the cause of the incidents and announced their suspension.
During that press conference, she seemed to absolve the pharmaceutical company, arguing that if it were truly at fault, similar incidents would have been reported in other state-run hospitals using the same supply.
That day, she also ordered a CID investigation in addition to the ongoing review by the clinical experts.
Recently, however, the clinical experts submitted a report that did not rule out the possibility that the administration of essential liquids like Ringer's Lactate and oxytocin could have caused the issues. The committee has recommended that the batch of Ringer's Lactate and oxytocin be sent for more detailed clinical testing.
Sources have indicated that until the results of this examination are available, it would be prudent to refrain from using clinical liquids from the same batch.
