Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel led by senior officials on Saturday reached the Kanpur Police Commissionerate to raise the concerns of a jawan who has alleged medical negligence on part of a private hospital due to which his ailing mother’s right hand had to be amputated.
The jawan, Vikas Singh, who alleged the police failed to take action on his repeated complaints against the hospital, had taken the amputated hand to the Police Commissioner’s office on Monday.
While the presence of armed personnel on Saturday led to reports claiming the paramilitary personnel had “gheraoed” the Police Commissioner’s office, both the ITBP and the police dismissed the claims as “rumours”, saying a prior appointment was taken for the meeting.
A Health Department committee probing the allegations submitted its report to the Police Commissioner on Friday. The report, however, is yet to be made public.
Following Saturday’s meeting, the Police Commissioner ordered to form a joint investigation committee comprising police officials, ITBP medical officers and doctors nominated by the district Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the case.
Kanpur Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Vipin Tada said the ITBP jawan had submitted a complaint a few days ago, alleging that negligence at the private hospital resulted in the amputation of his mother’s hand. As the matter involved allegations of medical negligence, the complaint was referred to the Chief Medical Officer, he said.
CMO Hari Dutt subsequently constituted a panel of doctors to investigate the claims raised by the paramilitary jawan.
“The inquiry report from the CMO has been received. On Saturday, the ITBP jawan arrived with his senior officers and expressed objections over certain points. The matter was discussed with the CMO and with the consent of both sides, it was decided that the points raised would be further examined. The objection letter has been forwarded to the CMO, and the next course of action will be decided after a fresh inquiry report is submitted,” said Tada.
Vikas Singh had arrived at the Police Commissioner’s office carrying a thermocol box containing his mother’s amputated hand, appealing for a probe into alleged medical negligence.
“We have submitted the inquiry report to the Police Commissioner. Since the jawan had raised objections on certain points, those aspects will be examined again and a fresh report will be submitted,” said CMO Hari Dutt.
The amputated hand had been preserved and remains in police custody, he added.
Vikas Singh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, is posted at the 32nd Battalion of the ITBP at Maharajpur in Kanpur.
In a video circulating on social media, ITB’s 32 Battalion Commandant Gaurav Prasad is heard saying, “After seeking an appointment with the Police Commissioner, we went to meet him on Saturday. We have full faith in the commissioner and are confident that justice will be done once the report is released.”
Rejecting the gherao claims, he said some people tried to create a misleading impression about the situation when jawans waited outside the commissioner’s office as they were holding discussions inside.
Vikas said his mother Nirmala Devi (56) was brought to Kanpur for treatment on May 10 after she had been experiencing breathing difficulties.
“A day after she was admitted to the private hospital, we noticed that her right hand had swollen and turned black. When I enquired, she told me that a drip was inserted into a vein in her right hand for administering glucose and injections. After she developed swelling and severe pain, the hospital staff shifted the drip to her left hand,” Singh said.
When he questioned the doctors about the condition of her hand, he was assured that it was a temporary complication and would improve soon.
“When the pain in her hand did not subside, I got my mother discharged from the hospital and admitted her to another private medical facility. The doctors there told us that it appeared to be a case of medical negligence. Three days later, on May 17, my mother’s right hand had to be amputated above the elbow to stop the infection spread,” Singh said.
He said that over the following two days, he approached the local police station and senior officers seeking registration of a complaint against the private hospital and its staff where his mother had first been treated.
“When no action was taken, I went to the Police Commissioner’s office carrying my mother’s amputated hand, seeking justice,” Singh said, adding that his mother remains under treatment at hospital.
A Kanpur Police probe into alleged medical negligence was intensified after an ITBP jawan carried his mother’s amputated hand to the commissioner’s office, prompting fresh scrutiny of a private hospital’s treatment. 
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