Left waiting in ambulance for hours, minor rape victim dies at Patna hospital

India Today

2 days ago

A minor from Bihar's Muzaffarpur, who was raped and subsequently assaulted, died on Sunday morning in Patna. The girl was lured with a chocolate near her aunt's house and taken to a maize field in Muzaffarpur, where she was raped on May 26.The rape victim was referred to Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), where she was made to wait in an ambulance for several hours on Saturday due to a lack of beds -- just a day before she died -- according to news agency PTI, citing state Congress chief Rajesh Ram, who was present at the hospital at the time of admission.advertisementAccording to the police, there were slash wounds on the girl's throat and chest. The accused tried to kill her by slitting her throat, the police added, as reported by PTI. "Her vocal cords were damaged, and she was unable to speak. The accused was arrested," a police official told PTI.
The girl was first brought in with neck and internal injuries at the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur on May 26, PMCH superintendent Dr Abhijit Singh told news agency ANI.Dr Singh said that the medical staff were prompt in their response as soon as the victim was admitted to PMCH with doctors attending her in the ambulance."She was taken to the ICU, and doctors from all departments treated her for the entire night. The doctor examined her in the ambulance, and then she was admitted too...," he said. advertisementDismissing the allegations of negligence made by the victim's family, Singh said, "If such an incident takes place with anyone, the family will make allegations of negligence. We actively treated her right after we learned about this case."The incident has sparked a massive political row in poll-bound Bihar with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi saying that "a minor Dalit girl in Muzaffarpur" died out of systemic apathy and medical negligence.Taking to X, he wrote, "The brutality against a minor Dalit girl in Muzaffarpur and the subsequent negligence in her treatment is extremely shameful. If she had received timely treatment, her life could have been saved. But the double-engine government was negligent not only in providing security but also in saving her life."Demanding justice for the victim, Rahul further wrote, 'We will not sit quietly until the victim's family gets justice. Strict action should be taken against the culprits and negligent officers."