A 27-year-old housewife, Rakhi Saha, died in after a lung procedure at aTeliamura pharmacy due to alleged medical negligence at a private pharmacy chamber. Questions arise over the doctor’s qualifications and the lack of oversight on unauthorized medical practices. Investigation underway.
Teliamura (Tripura), June 23: A 27-year-old young housewife died due to alleged medical negligence by a doctor treating patients in a private chamber. The deceased, Rakhi Saha (27), was a resident of Hawaibari under Teliamura police station. The incident occurred at a private chamber in a pharmacy in Teliamura.
According to a complaint, the family of the young housewife had been consulting Dr. T.K. Sarkar, who came from Agartala, at a pharmacy named Janapriya Medical Hall in Teliamura town for some time.
Various blood tests were conducted as per his prescriptions. Later, the doctor informed the family that water had accumulated in her lungs.
On Monday, when the patient was brought back for treatment, the doctor claimed he had brought equipment and would drain the water from her lungs in the chamber itself for a fee of Rs 3,000, as alleged by the relatives of the deceased’s in-laws.
As planned, around noon on Monday, the procedure began, and two syringes full of fluid were extracted from her chest.
The patient was then sent home by Dr. T.K. Sarkar. However, shortly afterward, her condition deteriorated, and the family rushed her to Teliamura Sub-Divisional Hospital. There, the on-duty doctor, Anirban Bhowmik, examined her and declared her dead.
Questions have arisen as to why the family opted for such a critical procedure like draining fluid from the lungs in a small private chamber instead of a government hospital or nursing home.
Further questions surround the cause of the young housewife’s sudden death—was it due to the family’s decision or the doctor’s alleged negligence?
Concerns are also being raised about how a doctor could perform such a procedure in a medical pharmacy chamber without proper equipment or arrangements.
The family alleges that if the doctor was unable to treat the patient properly with the available setup, he could have referred her elsewhere.
Why, they ask, did he undertake such a serious procedure for Rs 3,000, leading to the young woman’s death? The body has been kept in the morgue at Teliamura Sub-Divisional Hospital for a post-mortem, which will be conducted on Tuesday, after which it will be handed over to the family.
In Teliamura, private medical chambers have mushroomed in pharmacies, often staffed by visiting doctors.
Some of these chambers have previously been exposed for employing fake doctors, leading to cases of fraudulent treatment.
Despite this, the administration has not taken significant action to address the issue.
Meanwhile, Kalyani Saha Roy, the Chief Whip of the Tripura Assembly and local MLA rushed to the site and expressed her full faith on the police investigation and hoped that justice would be delivered to the victim’s family.
I Kalyani Saha Roy speaking before media l
In a social media post, she cited medical error as the reason of the death of the housewife.
She wrote, “A flawed decision, the greatest loss to an innocent life—due to a medical error, a mother’s love, affection, and shelter have been lost.”
Narrating the incident the MLA wrote, “Due to the erroneous treatment by a quack doctor at the chamber of Janapriya Medical Hall in Teliamura market, a family has been plunged into darkness.
“Upon receiving this news, I immediately rushed to Janapriya Medical Hall, spoke with the shop owner, and met with the police who arrived to begin their investigation”.
She added, CCTV footage was reviewed, and I spoke with the family, assuring them that a thorough investigation would ensure the culprits are punished. I also discussed the matter with the responsible police officer.
