Hinganghat lecturer succumbs to burn injuries

Nagpur: Ankita Pisudde, 24, a college teacher from Hinganghat in Wardha, who had been set afire near her college on February 3 by a stalker, died in a hospital at Nagpur in the early hours of Monday.
Her attacker, Vikesh Nagrale, had been arrested shortly after the attack by MIDC Bori police of Nagpur rural, and booked by Hinganghat police for attempt to murder by setting Pisudde afire with petrol. After her death, Nagrale, who is now in Wardha jail, has been charged with murder.
Pisudde’s death triggered outrage and protests in Wardha district, especially at Hinganghat, where a bandh was observed. Police had to cane charge unruly mobs at Daroda, Pisudde’s native place, where her body was taken in an ambulance for last rites. The protesters pelted stones and smashed the windshield of the ambulance. Cops were also targeted with stones, after which they lathi charged the agitators.
A candle march was also organized at Wardha city on Monday evening.
Senior PI Satyaveer Bandiwar of Hinganghat police station said three platoons of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and Riot Control Police (RCP) have been pressed into action.
Earlier, there was drama outside the mortuary at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) too, as Pisudde’s family members and friends were reluctant to allow the post mortem, and receive the body. They first wanted the government to give in writing that Pisudde’s brother Prajwal would get compensatory employment.
Led by Pisudde’s maternal uncle Prashant Kohle, the protesters raised a demand to hand over Nagrale to them. “Even if for 10 minutes, hand him over so we can make him feel how it pains to get burned,” he said during an impromptu sit-in outside the mortuary at GMCH.
Amid the agitation, a four-member forensic team comprising associate professor HV Pathak, assistant professors Dr Deepak Sangle and Dr Priyanka Patil, under head of the department Dr AA Mukherjee completed the post mortem in less than an hour.
Wardha guardian minister Sunil Kedar, who was present to expedite the post mortem, managed to convince agitators to allow the ambulance to roll out of the hospital with the body after the procedure. Kedar and the outnumbered police physically pushed agitators out of the way of the ambulance. Former city guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule too had reached the place.
Earlier, Pisudde, a post graduate in botany, was declared dead at 6.55am by the team of doctors attending on her at Orange City Hospital and Research Institute (OCHRI). The hospital bulletin cited the cause of death as ‘septicaemic shock in patient of 35% Grade III deep dermal burns with inhalation injury’.
Already on ventilator since February 7, Pisudde’s health had started deteriorating in the last couple of days. In the wee hours of Monday, a team of five doctors; Dr Rajesh Atal, Dr Darshan Rewanwar, Dr Ninad Gawande, Dr Ritesh and Dr Anup Marar, struggled for nearly two hours to revive Pisudde after her condition deteriorated at 4am. The doctors were able to maintain her blood pressure, but the highly fluctuating oxygen level in the blood could not be improved. Her family too was alerted about the deteriorating condition.
At 6.30am, Pisudde’s health deteriorated for the second time. This time, she suffered ‘bradycardia’ or slower heart rate along with the other complications. She was administered a prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Despite efforts, Pisudde sank beyond any revival attempts and was declared dead.