Imphal, October 13 2010: Today morning around 3:45 am, a patient at Catholic Medical Centre, Koirengei in Imphal passed away due to laxity of the doctor.

The deceased is identified as Sandeep Gupta (30 yrs) S/o Bimol Gupta of Mantripukhri Bengali Colony.

He was employed as manager of Maria Montessori School, Koirengai.

He had also worked with Newmai News Network as its manager some years ago.

According to sources obtained from the family members, on October 8 Sandeep Gupta complained of fever following which he was admitted to the hospital on the advice of a surgeon Dr.Chisthi.

On being diagnosed with appendicitis the surgeon advised immediate operation.

The doctor had said that the patient's appendix has the potential of getting ruptured if not operated upon at once, informed a source.

He was operated the following day.

Everything went well, they were told.

However, on the next day of the operation, the patient began to experience complications like unnatural swelling of abdomen with blood and body fluid oozing out through the stitches.

After a complain was lodged to this effect, the surgeon doctor assured that a key-hole incision will help release the gas that was formed inside the abdomen, said sources from the family.

Despite the assurance, the problems persisted and his health conditions began to deteriorate, rued one family member of Sandeep Gupta.

On October 10, an endoscope result suggested immediate attention following which another operation was deliberated.

He was kept in close observation.

The very next day, yet another operation was performed on him wherein it was discovered that the stitches from the first operation had loosened and the appendix reportedly ruptured.

The GMO of the hospital, Dr.Lawrence who was on night duty said that during doctors round on the night of October 12 at around 7:00 p.m., the patient complained of fever and respiratory complication.

He had administered injection to bring down the fever while oxygen had already been administered, said the GMO.

Initially, the injection seemed to neutralize the fever but later on the complication began to grow critical.

Dr.Chisthi, who was instantaneously informed over the phone, simply advised and prescribed medications from home.

He was later unreachable, informed another source.

The GMO arranged shifting the patient to intensive care unit (ICU) following the complication in the wee hours of the day.

Meanwhile, his health began to show sign of breaking down.

Just when he was being initiated to be taken to the Research Station instead, the patient breathed his last on Wednesday at 3:45 a.m. On hearing the sad news, members of the deceased family and public from his locality streamed into the hospital premise and accused the doctor of negligence and murder.

The aggrieved crowd turned hostile demanding answer from the hospital.

The rampaging crowd was counterbalanced by Heingang Police who doubled up as a go-in-between to a negotiated settlement between the hospital administration and the aggrieved lot.

A sit-in protest was held today at Mantripukhri demanding an action against the doctor in question by the authorities concerned.

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