Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday pulled up the West Bengal government over the alleged death of a young mother in a government hospital last week after being administered spurious saline.
Adjudicating a PIL a division bench comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, directed the government to pay compensation to the bereaved family.
Four other pregnant women were also reportedly admitted to the intensive care unit after being administered the alleged spurious saline at the Medinipur hospital. Three of them were shifted to the SSKM hospital and admitted to the ICU.
The advocate for the petitioners informed that on March 22, 2024, the Karnataka government had blacklisted a company for supplying contaminated saline and banned them from supplying it in that state while informing the West Bengal government.
Despite that, the Bengal government did not take action and placed an order with the blacklisted company for the supply of saline for the government hospitals.
Sources said the division bench ordered the state government to pay compensation to the bereaved family and asked for a comprehensive report from the Health Department regarding the timeline of events and the names of those who were administered the solution.
