A 26-year old pregnant woman from Mumbra, who was in labour, died in an autorickshaw on May 25, after being refused admission by three hospitals. According to Mumbra Police, the incident occurred in the intervening night of May 25- 26. A case was registered in Mumbra police station on May 28 against the three hospitals that refused to admit her. The woman and her unborn baby died for want of timely medical care. The deceased woman has been identified as Asma Akbar Mehendi, 26, who lived with husband in Mumbra.
They could not afford to pay her delivery expenses. According to investigating officer Babasaheb Kamble from Mumbra police station, "Asma developed labour pains on May 26. She and her husband hired an autorickshaw and first went to Universal Hospital, where doctors allegedly told them they would have to shell out Rs 60,000 as expenses before she could be admitted. The couple then rushed, first, to Prime Criticare and then to Bilal Hospital, only to be informed at both places that they had a scarcity of beds. They not only refused to admit her but also failed to give her primary aid for an emergency, it is alleged."
"We are investigating the matter. No arrest has been made yet. But we will soon register additional offences in the matter," Kamble said. In another incident, another pregnant woman, Mahek Awwal Khan, 22, a resident of Bhole Nath Nagar in Mumbra, too was refused admission by three hospitals while she was in labour. She finally managed to find a hospital that was ready to admit her and delivered her baby there.
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