The police on Thursday informed the High Court that an offence under Section 304 of the IPC had been slapped on doctors in a case relating to the death of Murugan, an accident victim, in view of the evidence that revealed failure on the part of the doctors in giving him treatment for suspected head injuries.
Investigation officer G. Ajayanath, Inspector of Police, Kottayam, in a report filed in the High Court, said the
doctors knew that the failure to treat a patient suspected to have suffered head injuries could lead to loss of his life . The hospitals failed to ascertain the suspected head injuries and give basic treatment.
The report said investigation was in progress and had revealed that the hospitals where Murugan was taken to refused treatment on account of non-availability of vacant ventilators. The post-mortem examination also revealed that he died of head injuries. Thus, head injuries had contributed to the death of Murugan, leading to incorporation of an offence under Section 304 of the IPC.
The police said action had been taken for constituting a medical board for evaluating the entire circumstances against the backdrop of the treatment protocol for reaching a final conclusion. Expert opinion had also been sought on the sustainability of incorporating Section 304 of the IPC.
The report was filed in response to anticipatory bail petitions filed by doctors Bilal Ahmed of Kollam, Srikanth Valasappalli of Thiruvananthapuram, and Patrick Paul.
