Girl dies during MRI test

Darjeeling resident Neha Tamang, 6, died of “unknown reasons” on Tuesday afternoon at GMR Institute in Green Park, where she had been taken for an MRI test, reports Jaya Shroff Bhalla.

Darjeeling resident Neha Tamang, 6, died of “unknown reasons” on Tuesday afternoon at GMR Institute in Green Park, where she had been taken for an MRI test.

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A medico-legal case has been registered against the physician at Sarojini Nagar Police Station. The body was taken to Safdarjung Hospital for a post mortem. The reports are expected on Thursday, after which the police will take action.

Tamang, who was suffering from a spine disorder, was bought to Delhi for treatment on Sunday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The family took her to GMR Institute on Tuesday after the hospital asked for an MRI test.

According to her family, Tamang didn’t wake up after being given a shot of the drug, Thiopintane, to induce unconsciousness before the test. “Dr Javed at GMR institute said he would have to give her an injection to make her unconscious before doing the tests because she was nervous. We agreed thinking he would be the best judge,” said Ashok Kumar Biswa, president of Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha, who is related to the family and spoke on their behalf as they did not speak English or Hindi.

“Soon after, the doctor came out in panic and asked us to rush her to Aaslok Nursing Home in Safdarjung Enclave. Doctors at Aaslok declared her brought dead,” he said.

The family is in shock. They are alleging that their daughter died of medical negligence. “Doctors at the nursing home have asked us to wait as their team will conduct the post mortem tomorrow. We want justice,” said the girl's father Neema Tamang, who was sitting outside GMR Institute with other people from the Gorkha community to protest against her unexplained death.

Doctors at Aaslok Nursing Home have certified Tamang was brought in dead.

“She had no signs of life when she was brought to the hospital at 2 pm yesterday (on Tuesday). Dr Javed from GMR Institute had accompanied the body. He informed us that Neha had suffered a cardiac arrest soon after he administered the drug Thiopintane,” said Dr Tanushree Siddharth, medical superintendent and head of operations at the nursing home.

HT tried to contact Dr Javed, but the GMR Lab is shut since the incident and the doctor is reported to be absconding.