UP: Staffer dies at private hospital, family protests alleging ‘gang-rape, murder’

Ruling out sexual assault on the woman, Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Anil Kumar said the postmortem found no injuries on the body. The cause of death could not be determined, and the viscera has been preserved for further examination, he added.

The police suspect poisoning as the cause of death. They, however, registered an FIR against four persons on charges of murder and gang-rape on the complaint of the victim’s family, said an official.

However, no arrests have been made so far. The investigation in the the case is on.

On Thursday evening, the woman’s family received a call asking them to come to the hospital where she was employed. When they arrived, they were informed of her death, and her body was sent home in an ambulance.

Angered by the woman’s death, locals confronted the hospital staff who brought the body home. The staff members were allowed to leave only after others intervened, it is learnt.

On Friday, the locals took the body back to the hospital and staged a protest there. When the police tried to intervene, a clash broke out. The situation was brought under control only after additional police force arrived. Several people, including police personnel, sustained injuries in the scuffle, it is learnt.

The police are collecting footage of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at the hospital and nearby. They are also recording statements of the hospital staff, an officials said.