A police case was registered against the dean and the paediatric department head of the Dr Shankarao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded where 31 people, including infants, died in a span of 72 hours, allegedly due to the shortage of medicines. While the hospital has denied the allegation, family members of a woman named Anjali Waghmare have claimed that they had to buy the medicines from outside.

Anjali and her newborn baby were among the 31 people who died during treatment in the Nanded hospital. In an FIR, the family alleged that she was admitted to the hospital on September 30 and delivered a baby next. The baby was born after a normal delivery and both were in good health. All of the sudden, the doctors informed them that they are in critical condition.

They brought the medicine from outside and arranged for blood units but doctor was not available when they reached the hospital, Anjali’s father said. When the family went to meet the dean, they were reportedly made to wait outside his office.

“If the dean and doctors had treated my daughter and her child on time, they would have been alive. We spent ₹45,000 on medicines too,” he alleged in his complaint.

Following the family’s complaint, a case has been registered against the hospital’s dean and the paediatric department head under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common interest).

Earlier this week, Shyamrao Wakode, the dean of the Nanded hospital, was allegedly made to clean the toilet of the hospital by ruling Shiv Sena MP Hemant Patil. A purported video of the incident showed the dean cleaning the toilet as the MP sprayed water from a pipe.

Following the incident, an FIR was registered against the Shiv Sena Member of Parliament under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly making Wakode clean a toilet.

On October 2, 24 deaths were reported in the hospital of which 11 were neonates – babies less than a month old. Seven more deaths were reported the next day. The incident triggered massive outrage with Opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) slamming Eknath Shinde government for the alleged shortage of medicines.

“It is even more serious and shocking that 12 newborns died. Heartfelt condolences to all the deceased and prayers to God to give strength to their families to recover from this grief! It is understood that patients had to lose their lives due to non-supply of medicines on time,” said Aaditya Thackeray.

Meanwhile, a six-member committee has been formed to probe the deaths allegedly due to the shortage of medicines and hospital staff. The Bombay high court has also taken the suo motu cognizance of the matter and said that reasons given for the deaths “can’t be accepted”.