An Aligarh resident was allegedly beaten to death by the staff of a private hospital over unpaid bill on Thursday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Sultan Khan, 44, a resident of Iglas tehsil.
“The police have recovered a CCTV footage which suggests a scuffle near the said hospital,” Abhishek, Superintendent of Police (City), said. The SHO of Quarsi police station has been asked to register an FIR and ascertain the facts.
“We are waiting for the post-mortem report to understand the nature of injuries,” he added. As doctors have found Mr. Khan as a possible case of coronavirus , the police official told The Hindu , they would wait for the COVID-19 report before the post-mortem is carried out.
The deceased along with family members had gone to the hospital for treatment, Mr. Abhishek said, citing the family’s complaint. “There was an issue over payment which led to the scuffle resulting in the death of Sultan,” he added.
Khan’s family has alleged that the hospital billed them ₹4,000 without conducting the ultrasound. Chaman, the nephew of the deceased, said Mr. Khan was brought to the hospital because he was unable to urinate properly for three-four days.
“Before admitting him, we asked the staff to tell us about the expenses. We were told that first an ultrasound had to be done. But I was given a list of medicines which amounted to ₹4,000. I told the doctor that I will not be able to afford such an expensive treatment and wanted to take my uncle to another hospital. The doctor agreed but as we were about to leave, a hospital staff said we need to pay ₹4,000 more as charges of admission. We refused to pay the amount which led to a heated exchange of words followed by a scuffle.”
Mr. Chaman further said that outside the hospital, they were chased by four or five people from the hospital. They attacked them with sticks, leading to the death of his uncle, he alleged.
Danish Ali, who oversees management of N.B. Hospital said, the deceased came to the hospital with renal and respiratory problem and seemed like a case of COVID-19. “His condition was worsening and after medical advice, we asked his family members to take him to another hospital. The nephew paid for the medicines but refused to pay the admission fees of ₹2,000. The staff asked for the payment but didn’t attack them. The said incident has happened outside the hospital premises.”
