A police team on Tuesday seized the records of five hospitals that allegedly refused to admit an accident victim, leading to his death.
The team is also examining CCTV footage of these hospitals.
Murugan, 30, residing at Kottiyam here, met with an accident on National Highway 66 on Sunday night. The five hospitals where he was taken to allegedly refused to admit him. He died on Monday morning.
Circle Inspector Ajayanath, who heads the investigation, said cases had been registered against the hospitals on the charge of refusing to admit the victim. The relevant records were seized from these hospitals, he said.
The statements of some hospital authorities concerned were also recorded by the police. The hospitals are Meditrina, Medicity, and Azeezia in Kollam, SUT Royal in Thiruvananthapuram, and the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. The police will also look into the circumstances under which KIMS Hospital, Kottiyam, where the victim was first taken to, referred the victim to another hospital.
First aid
The hospital had provided first aid to the victim and referred him on the grounds that the hospital lacked trauma care facility.
Ambulance driver Raju and TRACK volunteer Ronald Rebeiro, who took the victim to Thiruvananthapuram, had contacted other hospitals there to admit the victim. But they were informed that no ventilator was vacant. The probe will cover that aspect too.
The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under IPC Section 304 against the five hospitals for refusing to admit the victim, who suffered serious head injuries on the grounds that no ventilator was vacant.
The body of Murugan, kept at the mortuary of the District Hospital here, was taken to the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, for autopsy. The body was later handed over to his relatives and taken to Tiurnelveli in an ambulance of the DYFI free of charge.