Rewa Hospital Doctor Suspended as Inquiry Continues Into Mother and Baby Deaths

Dr Gunjan Goswami, the doctor who was treating Kalpana Mishra, has been suspended until further orders at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Rewa, Navbharat Live reported on 8 October. Ms Mishra and her baby died at the hospital in late August, a case that has since led to a series of administrative actions, political protests and an inquiry that is still under way.

According to the news agency IANS, Ms Mishra, a resident of Hatwa village in Rewa district, was admitted to the obstetrics and gynaecology department in a critical condition in the early hours of 26 August, and she and her child died during treatment late the same night. Her family alleged negligence and misconduct by hospital staff. The hospital said, as reported by IANS, that she had a term pregnancy complicated by severe pre-eclampsia and other complications, and that treatment followed established protocol. IANS added that it could not confirm the authenticity of a video that circulated on social media showing the woman pleading for help.

Within days of the deaths, the health department suspended two doctors and two nursing officers pending a preliminary investigation and formed a committee of senior doctors, IANS reported. Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Rajendra Shukla ordered an impartial inquiry, and the agency quoted him as saying that established treatment protocols must be strictly followed and that patients' families must be treated with respect. At the family's request, a joint post-mortem examination was carried out by a team from the district hospital and the medical college.

The Navbharat Live report of 8 October says action in the case has continued for roughly two months. Besides Dr Goswami's suspension, it lists action against nursing staff, the transfer of former dean Dr Sunil Agrawal to another district and the removal of hospital superintendent Rahul Mishra from his post. Reports differ on the names and designations of some of the staff members who faced action, and this desk has therefore not named them.

The case has also drawn political attention in the city. Navbharat Live carried reports in September of protests by the Youth Congress and the Congress, including a demonstration near the Deputy Chief Minister's residence where, according to the outlet, police used tear gas, as well as a water protest demanding justice for the family. The outlet also reported that a magisterial inquiry began in mid-September, alongside the departmental probe into the role of hospital staff, including the treatment and admission processes.

Navbharat Live stressed that a suspension is not a final finding of guilt and that the conclusions of the inquiry will be decisive. The reports reviewed by this desk do not state the cause of death as established by the inquiry, nor when its findings are due. Further action may follow depending on who the inquiry holds responsible and at what level. Until then, the family's allegations and the hospital's account of the treatment remain to be tested by the investigators.