Delhi hospital declares twins dead, kin find boy alive

In a shocking incident, premature twins were allegedly declared dead by doctors of Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh and handed over to their parents who realised that one of them was alive only when they were on their way to perform the last rites. The police registered a case on Friday on the basis of a complaint filed by the family.

The family said that their 20-year-old daughter-in-law Varsha gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, on November 30 morning. The doctors allegedly declared the girl stillborn. The boy was declared dead a couple of hours later.

The woman’s brother-in-law Deepak said that Varsha, who was six months pregnant, had complained of stomach pain on November 28. She was taken to a nursing home in Nangloi where the doctors said that her condition was critical.

Stillborn

“That’s when we took her to Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh,” he added.

On November 29, the doctors allegedly told the family that there was a threat to Varsha’s life and she needs to be operated upon for delivery of the children.

“Early morning, they told us about the operation and we said that they should do whatever is important for her safety,” he said.

The twins were born around 7.30 a.m. The doctors allegedly told the family that the girl was stillborn.

“They told us that the boy was alive and they will keep him under observation. They said they’ll charge ₹50,000 a day in the nursery and that he needed to be kept there for three months. We agreed,” said Deepak.

However, around 12.30 p.m., a lady doctor allegedly told the family that the boy did not survive.

Wrapped in plastic

Deepak said that both the twins were then allegedly wrapped in sheets and plastic and handed over to the family after an hour.

“We were taking the twins for last rites and had reached Madhuban Chowk. The boy was in a relative’s lap when he felt some movement. We quickly unwrapped the baby and found that he was breathing heavily,” he said.

The family took the boy to a nursing home in Pitampura where he is being monitored.

“He is on life support. The doctors at the nursing home told us that the boy has several infections because he was exposed to the environment and had been wrapped in plastic. They haven’t told us whether he’ll survive,” said Deepak, adding that the family was calling the boy ‘Champ’.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north-west) Aslam Khan said that the police are sending documents to the Delhi Medical Council and the Medical Council of India for recommendation.

“We are registering a case under Section 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide),” she added.

The family alleged that though police have been cooperating with them, the FIR was registered after they staged a protest on Thursday and Friday demanding strict action against the doctors