Man appeals to UP CM after wife’s death from surgical negligence

PILIBHIT: Months after his wife died from septicemia, a man from Pilibhit has appealed to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking the arrest of five doctors and another individual accused of influencing the police investigation.The incident dates back to December last year, when 35-year-old Kheelawati, a resident of Mishrain Gautia village, died following complications after undergoing a hysterectomy at a private hospital in Devipura. A two-member inquiry panel comprising the CMO and SDM of Pilibhit Sadar, formed in February after TOI reported the matter, found the doctors involved “guilty of negligence.”The report named three doctors from Autonomous State Medical College (ASMC): assistant professor Dr Ruchita Bora, senior resident Dr Saif Ali, and senior resident gynaecologist Dr Asha Gangwar.

Two private doctors, Dr Rambeti Chauhan and Dr Himank Maheshwari, were also held responsible.Despite the findings, no disciplinary action was taken by ASMC. This led the woman’s husband, Uma Shankar, to file a complaint via the CM’s grievance redressal portal, after which an FIR under BNS sections, including 105 (culpable homicide), was registered on March 25.In a fresh complaint filed on Friday, Uma Shankar alleged that no arrests have been made and no charge sheet filed, even after three months.

He named the investigating officer Jagdeep Malik, also the SHO of Gajraula police station, accusing him of inaction.Narrating the sequence, Shankar said he took his wife to the Devipura multispecialty hospital on July 7 last year for excessive uterine bleeding. The surgery was performed by Dr Asha Gangwar, a government doctor posted at the district women’s hospital, who, by protocol, is not permitted to operate in private hospitals.Though Kheelawati was discharged on July 23 with a ‘stable’ diagnosis, she continued to complain of severe abdominal pain. Despite several rounds of treatment over the next three months, her condition worsened.On November 14, she was taken to the district women’s hospital, where the same gynaecologist, Dr Gangwar, referred her to the general surgery department. An ultrasound revealed pus and swelling, and surgery was performed two days later to drain the infection.

A subsequent CT scan reportedly detected a sponge, but Uma Shankar claimed that the family was not informed.On December 1, Kheelawati was shifted to another private hospital in Bareilly, where doctors confirmed the detection and performed two surgeries to remove the sponge. She died a few hours after the second surgery. When asked, SHO Jagdeep Malik said, “The investigation is underway and may take a few more days. We have obtained the inquiry report from the CMO and SDM and are including it in the investigation.”