KEM Hospital mishap: Victim’s father regrets not taking son to private hospital

Father of the two-month-old Prince Rajbhar, who died after suffering severe burns in an accident in the paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of King Edward Memorial

Father of the two-month-old Prince Rajbhar, who died after suffering severe burns in an accident in the paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital on November 22, left Mumbai for his hometown, Varanasi, on Friday.

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Pannelal Rajbhar, the infant’s father, said he regrets not having even a single photo with his first child to keep as a memory. Rajbhar said he will always be scared to take his family members to any government hospital. “I was scrolling through old photos in my phone and realised that I don’t have a single photograph with Prince,” said Rajbhar. “I couldn’t take my son to a private hospital as I couldn’t afford it. I will always regret it. Now, I will always be scared to take my family members to a government hospital.”

Rajbhar said he will now focus on completing his polytechnic course, which he was planning to quit due to Prince’s illness. He is determined to appear for his exams between December 7 and 18. “My father-in-law has taken my wife to his home in Surat to help her cope with the loss.I am going to take her along and return to Varanasi,” he said.

The infant was injured on November 7 when there was a fire inside the ICU. On November 11, doctors had to amputate his left arm. On November 22, the infant succumbed to the infection caused by the burns.

On Friday, Bhoiwada police handed over the post-mortem investigation report to Rajbhar along with a copy of the first information report (FIR). As HT had reported earlier, the autopsy stated septicemia caused by superficial to deep thermal burns led to Prince’s death.