4 weeks Ago
Girl's Death Leads to a Politicized Outcry In the two months since, the death has prompted protests, and the parties are locked in a bitter war of recriminations over the episodes.
The minor from Dalit community died at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Sunday. Her uncle claimed she was left in an ambulance for about four hours before she was admitted. The family was forced to run from department to department before the girl was embraced, compounding her distress, he said.
The hospital has denied the claims. The child was clamped in the paediatric department, refered to the ENT unit for her injuries and eventually shifted to the ICU in gynaecologial department because the ENT ward did not have facilities for critical care, added the senior official.
The case has stoked political tensions, with opposition parties charging the BJP-JD(U) government with criminal neglect. The Congress and the Rashtriya JanataDal (RJD) staged protests at the airport and decried the incident, with leaders such as Rahul Gandhi calling its extremely shameful.
National Fury and Health System Faces More Scrutiny
The victim, 12, was raped on 26 May near the house of her aunt in Muzaffarpur. She was discovered with stab injuries and was first treated in two other hospitals but later referred to PMCH for specific surgery.
Her death has been seized on by national bodies like the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women, both of whom have called for an investigation into the hospital's treatment of the case.
The incident has also renewed criticism of Bihar's dilapidated healthcare system, which was under scrutiny ahead of state elections later this year. There are news reports of jarring statistics, such as one government doctor for every 11,541 patients in Patna and only half of government hospital ventilators working.
