Nagpur: A three-year-old girl’s death at Colors Hospital in Ajni triggered a violent attack on doctors and hospital staff on Thursday, with an unruly crowd storming the ICU, assaulting medical personnel and damaging equipment, as per CCTV footage submitted to police. A complaint was lodged at Dhantoli police station by hospital director and senior paediatrician Dr Vinod Gandhi, who faced the brunt of the attack. Senior police inspector Sainath Ramod told TOI an FIR was being registered.The girl was brought to Colors Hospital with a feeble pulse and in a breathless state at noon, just 24 hours after the doctors advised hospitalisation on suspicion of dengue. Her relatives, however, took her home and returned to the hospital on Thursday after her condition deteriorated sharply, doctors said.Her death sparked allegations that doctors failed to advise immediate hospitalisation. The hospital brass, however, said they have digital records of her treatment, and she had been under the meticulous care of the same doctor for several years.The attackers allegedly smashed ICU monitors, tossed files and case papers, leaving the critical care unit in disarray and patients terrified.A doctor, witness to the attack, told TOI, “The moment Dr Gandhi informed relatives about the girl’s death, they barged into the ICU, a restricted area, and began thrashing the doctors. Even women relatives kicked, abused and assaulted medical personnel.”During the chaos, the girl’s parents allegedly took away her body without obtaining permission from the hospital, turning it into a major legal complication. Doctors confirmed the body cannot be received by the hospital after it left the premises without consent or autopsy.Relatives later reached the police station at night demanding a death certificate and case papers and told cops they could bring the body back to the hospital. The hospital administration, however, cited the possibility of tampering with the body in the absence of a postmortem examination and refused to issue a death certificate.Earlier in the day, the mob assaulted 63-year-old paediatrician Dr Vinod Gandhi, 45-year-old chief intensivist Dr Mahesh Turale, the medical superintendent, the woman medical superintendent, women paramedics and other hospital staff, as per the police complaint.Dr Gandhi and other doctors reached Dhantoli police station around 6 pm to lodge a complaint. The process dragged on till around 10:30 pm although doctors had submitted a detailed complaint along with CCTV footage of the entire incident.All 16 directors of the hospital, along with several prominent paediatricians, remained outside Dhantoli police station, demanding action against the accused. The relatives and their acquaintances also reached the police station, some coming from Hingna.Police officials attempted to intervene and push for a settlement, but the doctors refused to withdraw the complaint. They remained firm on an FIR.Dr Vasant Khalatkar, a renowned paediatrician and one of the hospital’s 16 directors, told TOI, “It is ridiculous. In such circumstances, doctors will live in fear of being attacked by violent relatives. Strict action should be taken against such culprits.”The attack comes amid a spate of violence against doctors and hospital staff in Nagpur, with healthcare workers repeatedly being targeted following deaths or adverse outcomes. In the latest incident, the violence spilled directly into an ICU, putting not just doctors and staff but other critically ill patients at risk.
