In a major development in last year’s Civil Hospital incident, where a deceased man’s body was found placed on the same bed as another patient, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has summoned two doctors allegedly involved in the case. The commission has directed Dr Mandeep Kaur and Dr Manju Nahar to appear before it on December 2.
The incident, which occurred on April 14, 2024, drew widespread outrage after visuals surfaced showing a deceased man lying next to a patient at Ludhiana civil hospital. While hospital officials initially claimed that the man had passed away just half an hour before being found dead, early reports suggested otherwise, indicating that the man might have died several hours earlier and was allegedly not attended to in time by the medical staff.
No action recommended after departmental probe
The case has been under the scrutiny of the human rights commission ever since, with multiple reports and hearings held to determine the accountability of the hospital’s staff. Earlier this year, on July 8, the PSHRC issued an order expressing dissatisfaction with the response of the health and family welfare department. The order stated that Kirandeep, senior assistant of the E-2 Branch in the department, had failed to specify what action, if any, had been taken against the doctors named in the case.
In November 2024, the commission had written to the Ludhiana civil surgeon, referring to an earlier report dated July 18, 2024, which merely stated that “departmental action” had been recommended against the doctors, without clarifying the nature of the action. The commission had then asked for a detailed update on the disciplinary proceedings, but no clear response followed.
{{/usCountry}}In November 2024, the commission had written to the Ludhiana civil surgeon, referring to an earlier report dated July 18, 2024, which merely stated that “departmental action” had been recommended against the doctors, without clarifying the nature of the action. The commission had then asked for a detailed update on the disciplinary proceedings, but no clear response followed.
{{/usCountry}}In its latest communication, the commission noted that officials from the health and family welfare department recently appeared and submitted a report prepared by a committee investigating the matter. Surprisingly, the committee’s findings did not recommend any action against Dr Mandeep Kaur Sidhu and Dr Manju Nahar.
The PSHRC has also acknowledged receiving a letter from the civil surgeon’s office last year, confirming that the recommendation for disciplinary action had indeed been forwarded to the director of health and family welfare.