Six hurt in Danapur hospital clash

PATNA: At least six people, including two journalists, were injured in a clash at a private hospital in Danapur after the death of a patient on Monday night. The injured people are undergoing treatment at Patna Medical College and Hospital.
The incident occurred after the death of one of the two boys, who was injured in a road accident, at the hospital. Dhirendra Gupta, a local journalist whose colleague was injured in the clash, alleged that eight bouncers hired by the hospital attacked the scribes and the relatives of the patient with hockey sticks.

Senior HR manager of the hospital, Aditya Pandey, however, denied charges, saying only one security guard of the hospital dispersed the mob protesting the death of the boy. “The boy, Vikas Kumar, was admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. The doctors could not save the boy despite putting him on ventilator support,” Pandey said, adding the CCTV camera installed at the hospital had stopped functioning four days back.

“The boy was on ventilator support when his relatives reached the hospital. They asked us to discharge him so that he could be shifted to another hospital. The boy, however, died while being taken to the ambulance. His relatives paid the hospital bill of Rs 18,000 and left with the body. However, some of them returned with the body after a while seeking monetary compensation and started pelting stones at the hospital,” Pandey said.

SHO of Danapur police station Sandeep Kumar Singh said no complaint has so far been lodged in connection with the incident. “The two boys, both named Vikas Kumar, were injured after their motorcycle collided with a road divider around 8.30pm on Monday. One of them died at the hospital. The clash started after the relatives of the dead boy returned to the hospital with the body. We are trying to find out who called them back to the hospital,” the SHO said.