Post Mortem

- Manoj Singh

On 25 April, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to Kafeel Khan—a doctor widely believed to have been framed in the case of the deaths at a Gorakhpur hospital last August. A substantial amount of reporting suggests that many patients—34 children and 18 adults— died because of a shortage of oxygen. The oxygen provider had cut the supply after the administration repeatedly delayed payments. Instead of questioning officials responsible for procuring the oxygen, the state government has accused doctors of medical negligence. “After observing the presented facts,” the judge Yashwant Verma said, “it is the opinion of this court that there is nothing in the records that can prove Dr Kafeel guilty of negligence on an individual level.” Verma added, “The court should also keep in mind that in the affidavit … presented to the court by the state government, shortage of oxygen has not been given as the cause of death.”

The court was pointing out a glaring contradiction in the case against Khan and other doctors. The Uttar Pradesh government has held in court that patients at the BRD Medical College hospital died not because of a shortage of oxygen, but of natural causes. On the other hand, it also accused several doctors of medical negligence. If the state believes patients died of “natural causes,” how can a case be made for medical negligence?

This is just one of many discrepancies in the case against the nine accused in the tragedy. Even the chargesheet filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police reflects AMBU bag was provided. Our child has died because of a serious ailment.”