“Missing” patient found deceased in the same hospital after 3 days

A patient allegedly missing from the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) was discovered dead in the corridor of the same hospital three days later.

Prakash Rai was admitted at the NBMCH on Friday night following a road accident at Fulbari, Jalpaiguri. The police of New Jalpaiguri police station had admitted him at the NBMCH and even informed his family members.

36 year old Rai was a resident of West Sikkim. On Saturday morning his elder sister Sujata Rai had arrived at the Hospital. On visiting the ward that had been communicated by the police to the family, Sujata was shocked to find that her brother was not there.

The Hospital authorities told her that soon after the patient was admitted he had gone missing. A missing diary had been lodged at the police outpost in the NBMCH premises.

After frantically searching the wards, Sujata visited her relatives at Kadamtala near Siliguri and narrated the incident.

Days passed without any news of Prakash. On Tuesday, Sujata again returned to the NBMCH to look for her brother. By sheer luck she chanced upon a dead body lying on the corridor of the Emergency Ward of the Hospital.

Closer inspection revealed that it was Prakash Rai. When Sujata challenged the authorities, she was told that the dead body had been identified as Akash Tamang.

However with pressure from Sujata providing identity evidence the body was identified as Prakash and post mortem conducted.

When questioned on this lapse, Maitreyi Kar, Superintendent of the Hospital claimed that there were two youth brought in on Friday night and both had gone missing. "Later one of the youths was found in the wards and readmitted as Akash Tamang by a group of youth. This had caused the confusion" added the Super.

Others claimed that the youth had died on Sunday. Questions have been raised as to how two youths disappeared from the ward.

The matter has been brought to notice of the West Bengal Human Rights' Commission by Aviraj Subba, the Convenor of the Human rights Cell of the Congress Party, Siliguri.

OneIndia News