Kolkata: Woman dies hours after giving birth, husband assaults doctor

KOLKATA: The husband of a young woman, who died hours after she gave birth to a healthy boy, assaulted the gynaecologist who had delivered the baby at CMRI Hospital on Thursday morning, sparking widespread anger in the medical fraternity, with doctors seeking strict punishment for the accused.
Rinki Bhattacharya, 30, was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, where ob-gyn Basab Mukherjee conducted a C-section to deliver a boy in the morning.Family members said the mother had appeared quite healthy when they saw her during the evening visiting hour. But the Baguiati resident developed severe respiratory distress around 3am on Thursday and died of a cardiac arrest soon after.

The family demanded an explanation from the doctor. Mukherjee was in the process of explaining the possible cause of her death, when her husband, Tapen Bhattacharya, lashed out and slapped him on the left cheek. The impact of the blow sent the doctor reeling. Uniformed policemen were present when the assault, captured on CCTV cameras, took place.

Coming barely eight months after the vicious mob assault at NRS Medical College and Hospital on two junior doctors, the single slap on Thursday resounded far widely than just in the corridors of CMRI. News of the assault sent ripples through the medical fraternity. The NRS incident led to protracted protests and a government assurance on a clampdown on such attacks. The CMRI assault has again touched a raw nerve.
Rinki had been under Basab Mukherjee’s care since she became pregnant. Accordingly, she was admitted to CMRI, with which the doctor is attached. The baby was delivered a little after 10am on Wednesday. The rest of the day was normal. According to hospital authorities, she suddenly complained of severe respiratory distress around 3am on Thursday and died of a cardiac arrest despite critical care support.
Her relatives, who arrived early on Thursday, were initially stunned to learn of the death and began asking questions about what had happened to Rinki, since she was apparently in perfect health just a few hours ago. When the RMO’s explanations failed to satisfy them, the message was conveyed to Mukherjee, who volunteered to speak to the family. “The doctor arrived at the hospital earlier than usual when he learnt that the family wanted an explanation. He said he would try to explain what happened,” said a hospital source.
The doctor then entered the patients’ counselling room and began speaking to a dozen-odd relatives of the deceased. As a precautionary measure, the hospital also called in the police, and two constables were present in the room. “The doctor was explaining the possible causes of death. When the relatives failed to see reason, he suggested an autopsy to determine the cause. It was at this point that the husband sprang up from a chair, leapt towards the doctor and slapped him on the face. The suddenness of the attack caught both the cops and the hospital security personnel unawares,” said a hospital staff.
According to the family, Tapen turned furious at what he felt was “medical jargon”, instead of explaining in “simple terms” what had happened. “The doctor was trying to camouflage medical negligence with medical terms that none of us could understand,” alleged a family member. Tapen later said he was distraught and beyond himself on learning of the shocking loss. “How would anybody else have reacted under this circumstance?” Family members said Tapen later expressed remorse.
The couple had got married two years ago, and this was their first child. According to relatives, their association with Dr Mukherjee’s family goes way back. Basudeb Mukherjee, his father, is also a gynaecologist and had helped deliver several newborns in the family, they said. “The death was unfortunate. However, physical violence on a doctor is unacceptable and will not be endured by the hospital,” read a statement by the hospital, which lodged a assault complaint with Alipore PS. Dr Mukherjee, too, has lodged an assault complaint with the cops.