IIT Kharagpur Mishap..Shame on Institue Administration

KOLKATA: Angry students at IIT-Kharagpur on Sunday forced the institute’s director to resign after a third-year student of electrical engineering
died of medical neglect.

Rohit Kumar was left unattended for three hours at the premier institute’s BC Roy Hospital after he sustained head injuries from a fall during a basketball game, the students claimed. A profusely bleeding Rohit was finally referred to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata - a three-hour drive away - but he died on the way.

The institute director, Damodar Acharya, resigned after angry students ransacked his house and refused to lift the siege till he took responsibility for the death.

“We tried to make them understand that there would be a proper inquiry to ascertain the cause of death and if there is any negligence on anyone’s part, action would be taken. I also told them that I would try to improve the infrastructure at BC Roy Hospital. But they insisted on my resignation. So, I resigned,” Acharya . He has reportedly sent his resignation to the board of governors.

Rohit suddenly fell unconscious while playing basketball with his friends in the morning. His head hit the ground as he fell. Friends rushed him to the hospital on campus but the doctor on emergency duty was absent. “When the doctor was finally located, he recommended a CT scan and special attention by a neurosurgeon. Unfortunately, such facilities are not available here,” said a student.

The hospital advised Rohit’s friends to take him to Kolkata and an ambulance was arranged though no doctor or nurse was available to accompany him. Two friends volunteered, but on the way, when Rohit started vomiting blood, they took him to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead.

As the news of Rohit’s death spread, at least 2,000 students gheraoed the director’s residence and ransacked it. They refused to lift the siege till the director accepted responsibility.

“Despite our repeated pleas, no measures have been taken to ensure that doctors and equipment are made available at the hospital. On weekends the situation is worse as doctors do not report for duty. Even the one on emergency duty has to be called in if a patient is brought to the hospital,” the students complained.
They also alleged that the hospital lacked even basic medical facilities. “If you check the stocks of medicine, you’ll find that most are past their expiry dates!” they added.

Rohit’s classmates and friends at the Lala Lajpat Rai hostel claimed he had never had such fits in the past.
When contacted, Rohit’s father, R P Sahni, was on his way to Kharagpur from Darbhanga, where the family lives. He said he had received news of his son’s death at 2 pm, but didn’t know the details. Rohit was the younger of his two sons.

An extremely jovial person with a large number of friends, Rohit was also one of the brightest in his class.