Doc threatened by patient’s relatives

JALPAIGURI: A doctor at Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital was allegedly threatened by relatives of a deceased patient late Tuesday night, leading to protests by medical students demanding increased security. The incident occurred after a patient was brought dead to the hospital, and her family refused to allow the required post-mortem.

Lipika Dasbeer, a resident of Maskalaibari in Ward No. 22 of Jalpaiguri Municipality, was taken to the hospital’s Super Specialty wing, where the doctor on duty declared her dead. When the doctor informed the family that a post-mortem was required before issuing a death certificate, the relatives allegedly refused to comply. The situation escalated when they demanded the certificate without an autopsy, leading to a heated argument.

Dr. Poulami Saha, the doctor on duty, recounted the incident: “The patient was brought in dead at around 2:30 am. The family refused to allow the post-mortem and began threatening me. A group of people stormed into the emergency department, and I was harassed.” Other hospital staff and security personnel, including the police, were present during the altercation. Despite their efforts, tensions rose, and the doctor and medical staff were allegedly threatened. In response, medical students staged a sit-in protest outside the emergency department, demanding enhanced security for hospital personnel.

Pinku Saha, councilor of Ward No. 22, acknowledged that the patient was a cancer patient and that her family had objected to the post-mortem, but he was unaware of the exact details of the altercation.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Surjit Sen confirmed that the family took the body without conducting the autopsy. “Both Dr. Poulami Saha and Dr. Sabyasachi Sengupta were threatened during the incident,” he said. In response to the incident, an emergency meeting was convened on Wednesday involving district administration officials, police, and hospital authorities. Dr. Prabir Deb, principal of the Medical College Hospital, addressed the situation, stating: “Autopsies are mandatory when a patient is brought in deceased. What happened last night was unexpected and unacceptable. We are discussing preventive measures to ensure this does not happen again, and appropriate action will be taken.”