Rani, a 20yo woman from the Musahar community, was taken to Maharaja Chet Singh District Hospital in Bhadohi, UP, in labour. Her family alleges that the doctors and the nurse refused to touch her after learning about her community and did not admit her. She gave birth at the roadside outside the hospital on a stormy night, while her mother and brother held up a cloth for privacy.
Hospital’s response: After the incident came to light, the Chief Medical Officer, SK Chak, had Rani admitted to the emergency ward. An inquiry found four doctors and a nurse guilty: one contractual, Dr Pankaj Kumar, was removed. Another doctor, Dr Mukesh Prajapati’s salary was withheld for a month, and the nurse Neelam Maurya was transferred. It also found the labour room locked. The health department denies caste bias and says Rani was referred because her haemoglobin was only 5 gm.
