Family members of Dr Aastha Munjal, a 28-year-old doctor, who was found dead in her cabin at Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in New Delhi on Sunday, 3 March, are demanding an autopsy under a medical board claiming that her death was “suspicious,” reported The Indian Express.
Munjal’s relatives allege that she was under stress for the past few months as she had protested against some malpractices that she has found in her short stint with the hospital.
Speaking to The Times of India, her uncle, Jitender Harjai, said she had raised questions about brain-dead patients being kept on ventilator for long period. And had also opposed the management’s decision asking doctors to get swine flu vaccines from goverment hospitals.
Harjai further added that the family feels that her conflict with the hospital led to her “murder.”
What Transpired on Sunday
According to a report in The Indian Express, Dr Munjal left her house for hospital at 5 pm on Saturday. She attended her last patient at 12:30 am on Sunday morning. In between, she spoke to her husband at around 10:30 am, who is a doctor at GTB Hospital. Munjal’s body was found at 5:15 am.
Monika Bhardwaj, DCP (west) told the daily that a syringe was found next to her body and that there was a mark on her left hand. The matter is being currently investigated.
Bhardwaj further said that the staff broke open the door when there was no response from inside.
Family Alleges Foul Play
Dr Munjal's father told The Times of India that she didn't plan to continue her job at the hospital. He further alleged that the family has not been shown the CCTV footage and a postmortem is still pending.
“Doctors say that even if she was injected with poison, the effects of it would get diluted if the body is kept for several days. We have appealed the chief minister to intervene in the case.”RK Munjal, Dr Aastha’s father to TOI
Raising questions on his daughter’s death, Munjal also claimed that there was another door leading to her cabin but no one used that to check on her, reported The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, Sushil Gupta, president of the hospital and AAP Rajya Sabha MP, said, “There have been no complaints against her, nor did she file a complaint against any colleague. I have asked the medical director to investigate the matter and set up a panel to look into it. We have checked the CCTV footage and shown it to the family. There has been no suspicious activity.”
(With inputs from The Times of India and The Indian Express.)
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