Kota: The Keshorai Pathan tehsil in Rajasthan’s Bundi district lies at the end of a three-kilometre road dotted with potholes. It is home to the family of Joginder, 9, one of the 110 children who have died at Kota’s JK Lon Mother and Child Hospital since 1 December.
Joginder died on 23 December, the same day he was brought to the hospital by mother Anita Meena, father Lal Bihari and uncle Lokesh after he complained of breathlessness.
The hospital’s response to Joginder, Lokesh told ThePrint, was one of pure apathy.
“The doctors tried putting him on two ventilators, but neither was working as there was no oxygen. How is this possible?” he asked.
The doctors, he said, intubated Joginder but then tasked the family with operating the pumping device. “The nurses saw us pumping but did not come to help even once.”
Joginder passed away late that night, leaving his family grappling with what might have been. “If the ventilators had been working, my son could probably have been saved,” said Anita.
As the series of child deaths at JK Lon Mother and Child Hospital become a flashpoint between politicians of the state’s ruling Congress and the opposition BJP, the authorities at the medical facility deny the families’ allegations that their children were killed by medical negligence and faulty equipment.
A.L. Bairwa, the head of paediatrics at JK Lon Mother and Child Hospital, told ThePrint that the claims of negligence “were not even 1 per cent true and there was no role of faulty equipment in the death of any child”.
Meanwhile, the families find themselves struggling with grief, each with their own story of missed symptoms and callous behaviour from hospital staff.
Also Read: Asleep since 2014: How national media, Congress & BJP woke up to Kota child deaths only now
Politics over children’s deaths
The deaths at the Kota hospital have triggered nationwide furore and politicians of all stripes are weighing in.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s statements, seemingly dismissing the deaths as routine and pointing out that the 2019 toll of 963 was lower than the number of deaths during the BJP’s tenure, hasn’t helped matters.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who faced a similar tragedy in his bastion Gorakhpur when over 30 children died overnight at a government hospital in 2017, said the Kota deaths were a blot on civilised society, human values and feelings.
“It is extremely sad that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, despite being women, are not able to understand the sorrow of the mothers,” Adityanath tweeted. He added that it would be better if “Priyanka met and consoled the aggrieved mothers instead of indulging in politics in UP”, referring to her meeting with the victims of alleged police brutality during protests against the Modi government’s controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
BSP chief Mayawati, meanwhile, demanded the dismissal of Gehlot, whose statements have also earned him repudiation from his own deputy and fellow Congress member Sachin Pilot.
Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Pilot, who visited the hospital Saturday, said “one can’t escape responsibility by weaving a web of numbers”.
“We shouldn’t be talking about what happened in the past. We should rather be fixing responsibility for what is happening at present,” he added.
Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP leader Om Birla, the MP for Kota, also visited the victims’ families Saturday and promised action. Speaking to ThePrint, Birla said the one common thread among all families was that all of them “are extremely poor and have few means”.
“I don’t want to politicise this issue, my main focus is to improve the facilities and help these people,” he added.
‘Drunk doctor, violent guards’
One of the houses visited by Birla was that of Asim Hussain, whose 13-day-old daughter passed away on 29 December.
His daughter, Asim said, was evidently unwell when she was born. She was not taking any milk and her metabolism appeared hampered as she didn’t pass either urine or stool — something an infant is expected to do within the first 24 hours. She was also weak, he added.
Despite this, he said, the doctors discharged his wife and daughter two days after the delivery on 18 December. His pleas, he added, all fell on deaf ears.
“When we got back home, my daughter was absolutely quiet, she was not even crying, wasn’t taking any milk and would only pass urine once in five days,” he said.
“When we went again to the hospital, it was too late, she was completely blue,” he added. “I didn’t even get to name her.”
The doctors at the hospital, Asim claimed, applied “a lot of force while examining her”. “They were extremely rough with her.”
His cousin Irfan, whose less-than-a-month-old son is on ventilator at JK Lon for a brain infection, claimed a doctor once entered the newborn ICU drunk.
“The doctor… couldn’t even stand straight and was reeking of alcohol,” he said. “He was making a lot of noise and disturbing the newborn children and mothers. Some other people and myself tried taking him to the police station to complain against him but he ran away. We still went and registered a complaint against him.”
Fifty kilometres from Kota, Buddhraj and Guntabai, who live in a dilapidated home at Rajgarh, alleged harassment at the hands of JK Lon guards.
The couple lost their baby on 22 December after she was delivered premature two days earlier. However, Guntabai, who had a caesarean section, continued to be in hospital as her stitches healed.
On 27 December, the couple said, they went out to get some water and tea but were not allowed to return. The guards, they added, told them to “get out”. According to Buddhraj, when “we objected the guards hit both me and his wife”.
“The guards hit me on the stomach and slapped my wife. And then threatened to tell the doctor to inject her with poison,” he said. “I got scared and fled the next morning. I have no postmortem report for my daughter and the vaccination card is with the hospital.”
Guntabai’s stitches are yet to heal.
A dark cloud of despair hangs over the families even as the deaths of their children wrench hearts all over the country.
“I earn Rs 215 a month, what can I do? Who will listen to me?” said Asim. “Noone listens to the poor, but when there is a crime, everyone’s eyes turn to us.”
Also Read: At Kota hospital, 100 deaths in a month not a first — 1,100 kids died every year since 2014
Not to make a political point. This is the Lok Sabha Speaker’s constituency. During elections, we see images of Amethi and Rae Bareilly. Pathetic. I think things are much better in Maharashtra.