Bihar minor rape victim dies after being made to wait for hours in ambulance

Police said the accused raped the 10-year-old girl after taking her to a maize field on the pretext of offering chocolate, and attempted to kill her by slitting her throat

PATNA: A 10-year-old girl from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, who was raped and brutally attacked on May 26, succumbed to her injuries at the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) on Sunday morning, amid allegations that she was left waiting in an ambulance for several hours before getting admission at the hospital on Saturday– a charge the hospital refuted.

The girl was allegedly eft waiting in an ambulance for several hours before getting admission at the hospital.

She was brought to PMCH in a critical condition after being referred from the Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur, said an official.

“The girl died this morning. The accused brutally slashed her throat and chest. He had also attempted to kill her by slitting her throat. Her vocal cords were damaged, and she was unable to speak. The accused has been arrested,” a police officer said.

She was admitted at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the gynaecology department at 3.44pm on Saturday, after her initial registration at the central emergency of the hospital the same day at 1.23pm. She died at the hospital at 8.15am on Sunday, after around 16-and-a-half hours of her admission in the ICU, said hospital officials.

During the intervening period, she was made to shuttle in the ambulance from the central emergency to the ear, nose throat (ENT) and the paediatrics departments, before a bed was finally arranged for her in the ICU of gynaecology department, as the ENT department does not have an ICU at the hospital, said people familiar with the matter.

Rajesh Rathore, media cell in-charge of the Bihar Congress, claimed the victim was referred to the PMCH from Muzaffarpur and her family members reached the state-run hospital at 11am on Saturday.

“It took the hospital administration more than four hours to provide her with a bed, and she was finally admitted there after 3pm. She was admitted after our intervention. The girl succumbed to her injuries on Sunday morning,” said Rathore, according to a PTI report.

“Our doctors attended to the patient in the ambulance itself. There was no delay whatsoever on our part,” said Dr Abhijeet Singh, deputy superintendent, who officiated as the medical superintendent in absence of Dr IS Thakur.

“I got the first message about the patient from a Congress MLA who came to my chamber at around 2pm on Saturday. We immediately swung into action. Though the patient was conscious, her condition was very critical, and prognosis poor. Other than the slit on her throat, she had a deep vertical cut down below her throat to the abdomen and despite the best efforts of our doctors, we could not save her,” said Dr Singh.

“It is a heart-wrenching incident and an insult to our state, headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar,” Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram said, as reported by PTI.

“The victim died as the law and order and the health system in the state collapsed. The NDA government in the state and the PMCH administration are solely responsible for the death of the girl. The incident has exposed the insensitivity of the government, the chief minister and the PMCH,” added Ram, who was present at the PMCH along with Rathore on Saturday.

The ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) has assured prompt action in the case.

“The incident is abhorring and highly condemnable. We are in deep shock to know about this incident and stand with the bereaved family in their moment of grief. I can assure you that the government will take prompt action in the case. Not only will the perpetrator of the crime be severely punished, if any loophole or slackness is found in the system of the PMCH, the health department will promptly investigate and fix it,” said Abhishek Jha, state spokesperson of the JD(U).

The accused lured the minor on the pretext of offering chocolate near her aunt’s house, took her to a maize field, and then raped her there, police said.