Baby dies as pregnant woman denied treatment over religion in Rajasthan

Doctors at a government hospital in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district allegedly refused to treat a pregnant woman on learning she was a Muslim. The woman’s husband alleged she had to deliver their child in an ambulance and that the baby died due to negligence of doctors.

Irfan Khan, the husband, told reporters he took her wife to a healthcare centre in Sikri on Friday night due to intense labour pain, from where they were referred to the RBM Zenana Hospital citing that the case was complicated.

“I reached the district hospital on Saturday morning where a lady doctor asked me about my details. She said you are a Muslim and you cannot be treated here. She asked another doctor to refer us to Jaipur,” said the husband.

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“I moved out of the hospital with my wife. My wife delivered in an ambulance and my baby died due to negligence of doctors,” said Khan. He alleged he was also being pressurised to deny the discrimination charges to the panel probing the incident.

Rajasthan Health Minister and Bharatpur MLA Subhash Garg has ordered an investigation into the incident. He said a team of the district administration is investigating the matter.

“I have asked the district collector to get the matter inquired. Action will be taken against whosoever is guilty. It is a painful incident,” he said.

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Without divulging much information about the case, Bharatpur’s principal medical officer Navdeep Singh Saini said the matter is being investigated by a panel. Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh, in a series of tweets, blamed his own Congress government for suppressing the truth.

“It is clear from the videos that the government is trying to suppress the truth. I am cabinet minister and do not speak without proof. Please do not cover up,” he said in a tweet tagging former state-cadre IAS officer Arvind Mayaram.

किसी धर्म के चंद सिरफिरो की जमात ने पूरे भारत में तांडव मचाया है लेकिन इसका मतलब यह कतई नहीं हो सकता कि धर्म के नाम पर किसी महिला को ऐसी भयानक पीड़ा और तिरस्कार का सामना करना पड़ेl एक माँ को उसके बच्चे के खोने से ज्यादा बड़ी पीड़ा कोई हो नहीं सकती… यह कतई स्वीकार्य नहीं है 1/2

— Vishvendra Singh Bharatpur (@vishvendrabtp) April 4, 2020

In another tweet, Singh said, “The Jamaat was/is a national disaster and hazard. But innocent muslims suffering like this is painful. It does not mean that citizens of Islamic faith are treated the way a pregnant lady was handled by doctors in Bharatpur. (sic)”

(With inputs from agencies)