Haryana govt FIR against Fortis doctor

The Haryana government lodged an FIR on Sunday against the doctor who treated seven-year-old Adya Singh, who succumbed to dengue shock syndrome, at Fortis Hospital in Gurugram.

Fortis has been under scanner since it slapped a bill of around Rs 16 lakh on the girl's family for her hospitalisation of 15 days. Union Health Minister J P Nadda had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

A case under section 304, part 2 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code was lodged at Sushant Lok police station against the doctor who worked with the paediatric department. The section carries a maximum punishment of 10 years.

"We submitted our inquiry report to the police on November 23, stating that the hospital had overcharged the family of the deceased," said B K Rajora, chief medical officer of Gurugram Civil Hospital.

The complaint was submitted on Saturday and the case was registered on Sunday, the police said. "We have received a 49-page complaint from the health department. A case has been registered," said a senior police official.

On Friday evening, Adya's father Jayant Singh lodged a complaint with the Gurgaon police alleging that his daughter died because of the doctors' negligence, and the hospital tried to 'destroy evidence' of their wrongdoings.

On Thursday, Haryana Health minister Anil Vij ordered Fortis Hospital, Gurgram, be removed from the list of government empanelled hospitals. He also asked the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to look into the possibility of cancelling the hospital's land lease.

A seven-member committee headed by Dr Rajiv Vadhera, Additional Director General of Health Services, stated it was unethical to pull off a patient's life support especially after she had sought Leave Against Medical Advice (LAMA) from the hospital. It also raises questions on forgery of parents' signatures for hospital documentation and overpricing of drugs and consumables.

Following the indictment by the panel, Vij had said an FIR would be lodged against the private hospital and the licence of its blood bank would be cancelled.

The Fortis group had earlier said that all documents, statements and details were made available to the probe team of the Haryana government.