Boy’s death leads to protest, caning in government hospital

Alex Raj

Tension prevailed at Vani Vilas Hospital here for a while on Saturday morning following the death of a seven-year-old boy whose family staged a protest with the body alleging medical negligence and demanding action against the doctors.

The police used their canes to disperse the agitated crowd. Later, the body was sent for a post-mortem.

Class 3 student

The boy, Alex Raj, a Class 3 student of a boarding school in Yelahanka, was admitted to the hospital with high fever and nausea on March 24.

“After two days of regular treatment, the doctors shifted him to the ICU when he was diagnosed with hepatitis. When Alex did not respond to the treatment, the doctors put him on the ventilator and he was under constant observation. His condition deteriorated and he developed convulsions with internal bleeding and succumbed on Saturday,” Gangadhar Belawadi, head of the Department of Paediatric Medicine, told The Hindu .

However, Yuvaraj, Alex’s father, insisted it was the doctors’ negligence. “They did not inform us about the condition. Initially they said it was a liver problem, but later they said he was suffering from kidney failure. Today, they said he died due to internal bleeding. We suspect the doctors did not diagnose his condition and did not give proper treatment.”

Alex is the second son of Mr. Yuvaraj, a wall painter, and Ammu, a domestic help. The family lives in L.R. Nagar slum in Koramangala.

‘We were threatened’

Ranjith Kumar, a social worker from the slum, said the doctors did not speak to them properly when they went to talk to them. “They threatened to hand us over to the police. When we staged a protest, the police beat us with lathis and drove us away. We have filed a complaint with the Victoria Hospital police against the doctors responsible for the death. We have also demanded a detailed probe.”