The family of the baby who was wrongly declared dead by Max Hospital in Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh on Thursday demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the matter. The family also filed a petition in a Delhi court to seek a status report on the ongoing investigation, PTI reported.
The demand came a day after an appellate authority stayed a government order that had cancelled the hospital’s licence on December 8. The hospital resumed operations on Wednesday.
“The Delhi government had taken the decision that would have served as a warning to other hospitals,” said the baby’s grandfather. “But, now the cancellation order has been stayed. We are running for justice. We want justice and so we demand a CBI probe into the whole case so that things get clear.”
The police had not allowed the family to protest silently in front of the hospital, the grandfather said. The family was “not even informed” about the stay order, the added.
The family’s counsel said that they would move the High Court if needed.
The case
A baby and his twin sister who were prematurely born at the Shalimar Bagh hospital on November 30 were declared stillborn by doctors. However, when the parents were on their way to a crematorium, they found that the boy was still alive, and rushed him to another hospital. The baby died later at a private nursing home.
The parents also alleged that Max Hospital had handed the babies to them in a plastic bag. A panel set up by the Delhi government found that the hospital did not conduct an electrocardiography test to check whether the babies were alive.
While announcing the government’s decision to cancel the licence on December 8, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the hospital was a habitual offender and that its negligence was unacceptable.
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