Year after losing 2-month-old son in Mumbai hospital mishap, UP couple welcomes child

Last year on November 7, the nodes of the ECG machine attached to the child’s chest caught fire owing to a short circuit. The fire burnt the infant’s left hand and left side of his face and he died on November 22, 2019

A year after losing their child in a mishap at civic-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital at Parel, Pannelal Rajbhar and his wife found a reason to celebrate in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In August, the Rajbhars welcomed their second child.

Pannelal Rajbhar with his three-month-old son Shashank at their home in Varanasi at Uttar Pradesh. (HT)

But even as the family is trying to restart their lives, the horror of the past continues to haunt them.

It was in first week of November last year that Uttar Pradesh (UP) resident Rajbhar had brought his two-month-old son Prince to KEM Hospital after he was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease and pneumonia in his home town Varanasi. Prince was kept on oxygen support at the hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and electrocardiogram (ECG) nodes were attached to his chest.

On November 7, early in the morning, the nodes of the ECG machine caught fire owing to a short circuit. The fire burnt the infant’s left hand and left side of his face. The child sustained 22% burn injuries and his left arm had to be amputated. He died on November 22, 2019, during treatment.

Meanwhile in January, the Rajbhars found a new hope after the couple learnt of a second pregnancy. As the fear of losing their second child played in their minds, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country in March only added to their anxieties and worries.

“We were extra careful this time. We followed up with doctors every month to avoid any pregnancy-related complications and to ensure better health of the child,” said Rajbhar, who is now at Varanasi, taking care of his three-month-old son, with his wife Sandhya.

The couple have christened their second child Shashank after consulting a priest for his safety.

“Though, we are trying to move on with our lives, last year’s horror continues to haunt us. Sometimes, I wake up at night to check on my son. Even if he sneezes, I rush him to a hospital,” said Rajbhar.

HT had reported that Rajbhar regretted and mourned on the fact that the family did not have a single photograph with Prince. This time though, Rajbhar captured several photos with his second son since his birth.

Though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had given them a compensation of Rs10 lakh, the family is still waiting to get justice.

Bhoiwada police had registered a first information report (FIR) under section 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) of the Indian Penal Code and then added section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) to the case after Prince died. However, the police submitted a closure report in court in October this year, stating that they did not find any conclusive evidence to place responsibility on anyone for the incident.

A police officer from Bhoiwada police station said, “We had sent the equipment for analysis but we didn’t find any fault with it. We have filed a report on it.”

The National Human Rights Commission is yet to submit their verdict on the incident.