Vashi man’s death by negligence: Cops book 7, including former NMMC chief

The Ingale family had written to the then NMMC commissioner N Ramaswami demanding action against the doctors. Ramaswami suspended Dr Shareef Hussain Tadvi and Dr Prabha Nandakishor Sawant and an internal inquiry were initiated

Navi Mumbai: Former Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) commissioner and six civic doctors have been booked by Vashi police for the death of a 27-year-old man by negligence in 2019.

Navi Mumbai, India - December 16, 2022: Parents of 27-year-old Vicky Ingale with his photo. Former NMMC commissioner and six doctors booked by Vashi police for causing death by negligence of Vicky Ingale in the year 2019, at Turbhe, in Navi Mumbai, India, on Friday. (Bachchan Kumar/HT PHOTO)

It is alleged by the family of the deceased man- Vicky Ingale, who worked as a junior clerk at Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) that he was given the wrong treatment when he was admitted to the hospital and doctors did not take his health seriously, which caused his death.

The FIR was registered by complainant Rajendra Ingale, father of the deceased, as per the order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Vashi.

On March 28, 2019, Vicky, a resident of Turbhe, was admitted to NMMC-run Vashi Hospital at around 6.15am by his father after he experienced uneasiness and vomited.

“The doctors took ECG and said he was normal and gave two injections and told him that he was fit to go home. The moment he reached home, his uneasiness increased and he couldn’t even walk. We took him back to the hospital. He was asked to take a 2D echo but the centre was to open by only 8.30 am. By 9.25am, his report had come and medicines were given and were suddenly shifted to the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) and kept on a ventilator,” said his 54-year-old father.

Ingale breathed his last at 12pm. “If only the hospital authorities would have taken cognisance of the matter and taken his health seriously, he could have been saved,” added his father.

Vicky was to get married that year on May 19. Rajendra and his wife Sonabai (48) have three children of which Vicky was the second one.

The Ingale family had written to the then NMMC commissioner N Ramaswami demanding action against the doctors. Ramaswami suspended Dr Shareef Hussain Tadvi and Dr Prabha Nandakishor Sawant and an internal inquiry were initiated. Later, Annasaheb Misal took charge as the new NMMC commissioner in the month of July.

“It was during the tenure of Misal that the report of the inquiry came in favour of the doctors and no further action was taken and hence we made him also a party to the case,” the father Rajendra Ingale said.

The current commissioner Rajendra Narvekar said that the two doctors in question were suspended and later reinstated during the Covid period as there was a dearth of doctors.

“The internal inquiry was set up and nothing objectionable was found later it was referred to an independent authority consisting of doctors from Dr Dy Patil Hospital and the report was the same,” said Narvekar.

Later it was referred to JJ Hospital and Thane Civil Hospital and again there was no negligence found on the part of the doctors. Since the reports clearly mention that there was no negligence, no action was taken against any of the doctors.

In the case registered on Thursday night for causing death by negligence, Vashi police booked the then commissioner Misal, Casualty Medical Officer of Vashi Municipal hospital Aarti Ganvir, on-call medical officer Dr Kiran Valvi, in-charge of the hospital Dr Prashant Jawade, and other doctors of the hospital Dr Hemant Ingole, Dr Sawant and Tadvi.

Senior police inspector Ramesh Chavan from Vashi Police Station said, “As per the court directions, FIR has been filed and further investigations are on. further course of action depends on the findings of the investigation.”