Thane man drinks rat poison, waits an hour for ambulance, dies

While Pawar was brought out of the hospital, there were many hospital staff but none of them helped.

A 22-year-old labourer, who drank rat poison after a fight with his brother, died on Friday while being taken to Thane civil hospital in a truck, after his family waited for an ambulance at the Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Hospital for an hour.

Kashinath Mangla Pawar being taken to Thane civil hospital in a truck. (Praful Gangurde/HT)

The labourer, Kashinath Mangla Pawar, 22, was first taken to IGM Hospital in Bhiwandi, where the family was asked to shift him to a Thane civil hospital. Pawar is a tribal who hails from Jawhar and had come to Bhiwandi three months ago in search of a job. On Friday, after a tiff with his elder brother, Pawar drank rat poison.

“Dr Arif Shaikh, Dr Somayya Ansari and ward boy Atish Gawli attended to the patient. The doctors had joined two weeks ago”, said a doctor from IGM hospital, who did not wish to be named. Pawar’s health started deteriorating and the doctor asked the family to shift Pawar to Thane civil hospital. “We then checked with the hospital for the ambulance but were asked to check outside. One of the relatives also dialled 108 but it did not help. We finally took the help of a truck driver . We kept him in the drivers’ cabin”, said Pawar’s relative.

While Pawar was brought out of the hospital , there were many hospital staff but none of them helped.

Dr. Anil Thorat, medical superintendent of IGM hospital said, “We have asked for an explanation for shifting the patient. We have 4 ambulances and two are under maintenance while the other two are not in a good condition. We had called for ambulances but they were stuck in traffic. We did not tell them to take Pawar in a truck.”An officer from Thane Nagar police station said, “We will forward the case to Bhiwandi.”