Puducherry: Activists seek judicial inquiry into death of three patients

Puducherry: Activists of different organisations urged the state government to order a judicial inquiry into the death of three patients at the government-run medical college here on Thursday allegedly due to a sudden power failure while undergoing dialysis.

The volunteers of All India NR Congress (AINRC) staged a demonstration near the government medical college hospital on Friday. AINRC leader and former legislator V. Bhalan said that medical negligence should be probed and action should be initiated against those who are responsible.

“Government should conduct a judicial probe into the incident in which three people lost their lives. The compensation should be enhanced to rs 50 lakh to the families of the deceased”, he said.

The government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

Student organisations staged a demonstration demanding a probe and seeking enhanced compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the deceased. Later, police arrested the cadres.

In a statement, G. Sugumaran, secretary of the Federation for People’s Rights. said that a probe should be held on whether there was negligence in administering treatment to the patients.

A memorandum will be submitted to the ministries concerned in the Union government and National Human Rights Commission demanding a detailed probe, he added.

BJP unit president V Saminathan in a statement demanded proper enquiry on the death of patients and said the government should spend money on procuring more dialysis machines and power backup facilities. He also urged to recruit more specialised experts in treating ailments affecting kidney and heart.