MEERUT: A 28-year-old woman, wife of an Armyman, who was admitted to a hospital in Meerut for delivery on Thursday, died of severe head and neck injuries when a lift used for shifting her from the OT on the first floor to a ground floor observation room “malfunctioned and crashed”, police said on Friday.
Meerut’s CMO Ashok Kataria said the private hospital was sealed on Friday and the lift’s maintenance records were being scrutinised, reports Krishna Chaudhary. “An initial medical report suggests the patient suffered from excessive internal bleeding and severe neck and head injuries,” he said.
“Strict action will be taken once we get more details. We have also revoked the hospital’s licence,” the CMO added.
Meerut SP (city) Ayush Vikram Singh said, “The tragic incident took place a few minutes after the woman, Akansha Mavi, from Meerut district, gave birth to a baby girl and was being transferred on a stretcher from the OT. There were two female nurses with her inside the lift. They suffered minor injuries and left the premises soon after they were rescued, leaving the patient behind. As per our preliminary probe, it was found that the lift’s belt snapped and it gradually crashed down… The newborn was not with her mother. She was moved to a different room from the OT and is doing fine.”
Meerut SSP Dr Vipin Tada told TOI, “An FIR was registered under BNS Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the hospital’s owner, treating doctor Kavita Bhatia and unidentified hospital staff members for not being around. No arrest has been made so far.” Sharing details, a police officer, privy to the case, said, “This incident took place at the decade-old Capital Hospital — located in the heart of Meerut city — around 5.30pm on Thursday. The pregnant woman was admitted there in the afternoon and the delivery took place at 4.55pm, and it seems the incident happened almost 30 minutes later. The hospital authorities told police on Friday that the spacious lift — usually used to shift patients and medical equipment — had been serviced about 10 days ago. There was also no lift man at the time of incident and most of the staff fled from the premises when they came to know of it.”
Cops said angry outsiders ransacked a part of the facility. For the family’s satisfaction, the woman was quickly moved to another private hospital (after the incident) where doctors declared her brought dead. The woman is survived by husband Ankush Mavi, a junior commissioned officer in the Army, a four-year-old daughter and the newborn.