DIBRUGARH: A compounder of a tea garden hospital in Assam’s Dibrugarh district was arrested on Monday for wrongly declaring a two-month-old baby dead. The infant later woke up during his burial preparations at his home. However, he died a few hours later, reports Rajib Dutta.
The high drama unfolded at Muttuck Tea Estate in Dibrugarh on Sunday after the boy was brought to the garden hospital by his parents at noon. As no doctor or nurses were present at that time, Gautam Mitra, the compounder, checked the child and declared him dead. The distraught parents, who were workers at the tea estate, brought the infant home and were preparing for his last rites when he started moving in his mother’s lap. He was once again taken to the garden hospital from where he was shifted to Assam Medical College and Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
On Monday, around 1,200 workers gheraoed the garden hospital in protest. They later marched to the Lahowal police station and staged a protest demanding the arrest of the guilty hospital staff. Members of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) and Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association joined the protest. Police swung into action and arrested the compounder from his residence.