A case of alleged criminal negligence was registered on Saturday against a doctor in connection with the death of a 37-year-old woman who was reportedly denied admission at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune due to the non-payment of an advance deposit, police said. The accused, Dr Sushrut Ghaisas, a consulting gynaecologist formerly associated with the hospital, had resigned a few days ago following the controversy surrounding the incident.
Case against the doctor
The deceased, Tanisha Bhise, who was pregnant and the wife of the personal secretary to BJP state legislator Amit Gorkhe, was allegedly turned away from the hospital in the last week of March after her relatives were unable to pay a deposit of Rs 10 lakh. Bhise later gave birth to twins at another hospital and passed away on March 31, two days after the delivery.
Her family accused Dr Ghaisas, who had been treating her, of insisting on the deposit before proceeding with admission or treatment.
A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Dr Ghaisas at Alankar Police Station under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to death caused by negligence, an official confirmed.
Report showed high-risk nature of pregnancy
Earlier on the same day, a five-member expert committee from Sassoon General Hospital submitted a revised and final report to the police concerning Bhise's death. The report concluded that despite the high-risk nature of her pregnancy, Ishwari alias Tanisha Bhise was not admitted or treated in time. The panel accused Dr. Ghaisas of showing insensitivity and medical negligence, which, according to them, led to her death.
Although the committee had initially submitted its findings on April 16, police requested further clarification on certain unclear points. A revised version of the report was subsequently submitted on Saturday.
Based on this report and a complaint lodged by Bhise’s sister-in-law, police proceeded with filing the FIR. No arrest has been made in the case so far, the official added.
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(PTI inputs)