Nalanda/Nawada (Bihar): As one and a half months passed, the family of late Md. Athar Hussain has many questions unanswered and one among them is – why didn’t the police allow the family to take Athar to a private hospital for better treatment?
The family members believe that had the police allowed them to take Athar to a private hospital, he would have been alive today.
Sitting at his home in Bihar Sharif in Bihar’s Nalanda district, Athar’s younger brother Md. Chand told The Wire, “Treatment was not proper at the Nawada Sadar Hospital. So we wanted to take him to a private hospital. I had talked to the doctor and the doctor agreed.”
He was about to take him to a private hospital but two police constables deputed at the hospital for Athar didn’t agree, added Chand. The constables, he said, “Spoke to the investigating officer (IO) who told me that he can’t be taken to a private hospital as there has been an FIR (first information report) against Athar in Roh police station in Nawada.”
“We even went to the local court to get permission for his transfer to a private hospital. But, IO told the court that his treatment at the Sadar Hospital was satisfactory,” Chand mentioned.
Athar was admitted to Nawada Sadar Hospital on December 6 and on December 11 he was suddenly transferred to Bhagwan Mahaveer Institute of Medical Sciences (BMIMS) in Pawapuri, Nalanda district.
Chand said that only at midnight Athar was taken to the BMIMS by the local police when his condition worsened. “When we went to see him on the morning of December 12, he was breathing from mouth. We somehow took permission from BMIMS to take him to a private hospital. We took him in an ambulance and were on the way to a private hospital, but he died in Bihar Sharif town.”
He added that Athar’s condition was a little better when he was admitted at Nawada Sadar Hospital but it worsened as he was not being treated in Sadar Hospital.
The police, however, denied the allegation.
“The police have zero power in matters of treatment. If the doctor writes a referral, the patient will be transferred. Our only job was to transport the patient. The doctor is the one who writes the referral, we can’t do anything about it. This is a matter between the doctor and the patient; the police have no involvement whatsoever,” a police officer at Roh police station, told The Wire.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
