Pressured to clear pending hospital bill, Navi Mumbai security guard dies by suicide

His relatives have decided not to claim his body for his last rites until the hospital acts against those responsible for pressuring him about payment

Navi Mumbai: Terna Speciality Hospital and Research Centre in Nerul was on Saturday booked for abetment of suicide and caste atrocity after the father of twins delivered at the hospital allegedly died by suicide, leaving behind a note blaming the hospital staff who pressured him to clear pending bills. The 40-year-old Navi Mumbai resident, a Scheduled Caste who worked as a security guard, was his family’s sole breadwinner. His relatives have decided not to claim his body for his last rites until the hospital acts against those responsible for pressuring him about payment.

Education - Colleges - Institution - Terna Medical College in Nerul, Navi Mumbai - HT Photo by Hemant Padalkar. 04.01.07

According to the police, the deceased’s wife became pregnant for the first time recently after 12 years of marriage. Eight months into her pregnancy, she complained of discomfort and a sonography on July 25 revealed that she had to undergo immediate delivery. She was subsequently admitted at Terna Hospital, where she delivered twin male infants through a C-section.

“Being a premature delivery, the twins had some health issues and needed to be kept in the NICU for ventilator support and treatment,” said the deceased’s elder brother. “Hefty bills were generated on a daily basis, which had to be cleared immediately,” he noted, adding that while he had paid around ₹90,000 to the hospital, another ₹80,000 was due.

In the wee hours of July 27, the 40-year-old man allegedly hanged himself at his residence. He locked himself into a room at around 5am, and when he refused to open the door despite his wife’s pleas, she called his brother. Family members then broke open the door and found him hanging from the ceiling. They also found a suicide note where he held the billing and administration staff of the hospital responsible for his death.

“A day prior to his suicide, the hospital staff threatened him, saying they would discontinue treatment for the infants and even remove the ventilators,” said his elder brother. He also complained about the same to the police, based on which a case was registered against the hospital under section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with sections section 3 (5) (joint criminal liability) along with section 3 (2) (V) (offences punishable with a term of 10 years or more, against an SC/ ST on the ground that the person is SC/ ST) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.

Repeated calls and messages seeking comment from Terna Hospital remained unanswered.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, a delegation of the Bhim Army held a meeting with hospital authorities demanding action against those guilty. They also warned the authorities that if anything happened to the infants in the interim, they would be responsible.

“The hospital staff behaved with absolute lack of humanity. Those accountable need to be punished,” the national secretary of Bhim Army, Ashok Kamble, told HT.

The party has called for a protest in front of the hospital on August 3.