A baby, who is less than a year, had been taken to the Muttuck Tea Estate Hospital in the Dibrugarh district of Assam, India on Sunday, November 8.
He was declared dead by a pharmacist, as the actual doctor was not around at the time.
Thereafter, the baby was taken home for a burial. However, as they were about to place him in the ground, he began moving.
The astonished family quickly took him to another hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
In reaction to this occurrence, the Pharmacist, identified as Gautam Mitra was arrested on Monday, November 9, and charged him with making a declaration of death without proper verification and in absence of a doctor.
According to police officer Hrishikesh Hazarika, “The sick child, a boy aged less than one year, was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead by the compounder.”
“The doctor of the hospital was absent at that time. But when the family was about to bury the child, it started moving.
“It was then rushed to Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), where it was declared brought dead on arrival.”
He added, “Maybe the child would have survived if the compounder hadn’t declared him dead and the parents had enough time to take him to a bigger hospital.
“We have lodged an FIR and arrested the compounder Gautam Mitra as he is not authorized to pronounce anyone dead.”
The tragic incident has resulted in protests against the hospital, with large numbers of demonstrators demanding action against Mr Mitra.
