A three-day inquiry has been ordered at Maniktala Employees’ State Insurance Hospital in eastern Kolkata after a woman who died while being treated for kidney ailments was found with injuries on her face and hands that officials suspect may have been caused by rats.
The woman, identified as Alpana Dey of Andul in Howrah district, had been admitted to the hospital’s surgical ward on Thursday after her condition deteriorated. A hospital official said she had been suffering from kidney ailments for around six years. Her relatives reached the hospital on Friday morning after learning of her death.
A family member said they noticed multiple injury marks after removing the cloth covering Dey’s body. The relative said parts of her eyelids and lips appeared to be missing and that her fingers also showed signs of injury. The family suspected that rats had gnawed at the body, according to the report.
A preliminary assessment indicated that rodents may have caused the injuries, but officials said a detailed inquiry was required to establish what happened. The Bengal health department has constituted a committee to examine the circumstances surrounding Dey’s death and the injuries found on her body.
The committee has been asked to submit its findings within three days. Its inquiry will also examine whether there were any lapses in supervision or maintenance at the state-run hospital. The available report does not establish the final cause of the injuries, and the suspected involvement of rodents remains subject to the panel’s findings.
The incident has also brought renewed attention to complaints from patients and relatives about cleanliness, food services and the alleged conduct of hospital staff, a senior health department official said. The official clarified that these complaints are separate from the inquiry into Dey’s death and the injuries discovered on her body.
The case places hospital maintenance and ward supervision alongside the medical circumstances of the death in the health department’s review. The committee’s report is expected to determine what occurred after Dey’s death and whether any institutional or maintenance-related lapse contributed to the injuries.
