Kolkata Teen Dies in Ambulance After AC Mechanic Poses as Doctor

The boy’s condition deteriorated after the man pretending to be a doctor failed to operate the life support system.

Photo used for representational purposes.

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

A 16-year-old resident of West Bengal’s Birbhum district died inside a critical care ambulance which was allegedly manned by an air conditioning mechanic posing as a doctor, reported The Times of India. The police have registered a case against Annapurna Nursing Home in Burdwan which arranged for the ambulance after allegedly asking the family to pay Rs 16,000, reports NDTV.

The teenager, Arijit Das, was being brought to a private hospital in Kolkata from the town of Burdwan, about a 100 kilometers away, on 16 March. The family has lodged a complaint at a Kolkata police station, following which two people, Sheikh Sarfarajuddin (the alleged fake doctor) and Tara Babu Sha (the driver), have been arrested under sections of death due to negligence, impersonation and cheating.

According to reports, Arijit’s condition deteriorated when the mechanic who was posing as a doctor could not operate the life support system in the ambulance.

The family was allegedly not allowed inside the ambulance. As per the report, the Das family also paid Rs 8,000 to the ambulance. They only found out about Arijit’s condition once he was declared brought dead at the Rabindranath Tagore International Institute for Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS) in Kolkata.

Arijit had started complaining of fever a day before his secondary school examinations began on 11 March. When the fever didn’t subside, his father, Ranjit Das, decided to get him tested. When all blood tests failed to detect anything, he was admitted to Burdwan’s Annapurna Nursing Home, where too doctors failed to treat him. The family then decided to bring him to Kolkata.

My nephew’s condition was not that critical before we left for Kolkata. In fact, Arijit was looking forward to writing his history examination on 16 March. I am sure he would have not died in the ambulance that is supposed to have all life support systems had he been accompanied by a real doctor.

Arijit’s uncle, Shubhendu Mondal, to TOI

The two accused were produced in court on 16 March. The police are also investigating if the life support systems in the ambulance were functional. The Annapurna Nursing Home in Burdwan has denied responsibility of the incident.

(With inputs from The Times of India and NDTV)