Anger over 10-year-old rape victim’s death after alleged treatment delay

The death of a 10 -year rape victim in the eastern Indian state of the Bihar after an alleged delay in medical treatment aroused indignation in the country.

The girl died Sunday morning at Patna Medical College and the hospital (PMCH), managed by the government of the State, in the capital Patna.

Her uncle alleged that the child’s condition worsened while waiting in an ambulance for about four hours on Saturday before being admitted to the hospital.

The PMCH authorities have denied it, saying that the allegations of a delay in admission are “baseless”.

The girl’s death made the headlines of the national newspapers, the opposition leaders accusing the government of the Bihar – a coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata (BJP) and Janata Dal United (JD (U)) – of mismanagement. The government has denied any negligence.

The girl is from the Dalit community, which is at the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy. Dalits face generalized ill -treatment in India despite the laws in place to protect them.

Following the indignation, the National Commission for Human Rights and the National Commission for Women criticized the incident and asked that the role of the hospital was the subject of an investigation.

Victims of rape cannot be appointed under Indian law.

The daughter was raped on May 26, allegedly by a man who lived near her aunt in Muzaffarpur. Police arrested the man and investigated the crime.

The girl disappeared while she was playing in front of her house. Later, his family members found him lying near a road. Police officials told journalists that she had undergone several knife injuries.

She was first taken to a local hospital, then to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), about 85 km (53 miles) from Patna.

Kumari Vibha, Skmch’s superintendent, told the BBC Hindi that the child had several injuries, including injuries on the chest and neck, but that his condition had stabilized. She was referred to PMCH because she needed reconstruction surgery on her trachea, said Vibha.

But in PMCH, said the child’s uncle, they faced a delay in admission while the child was waiting in the ambulance.

“They [the hospital staff] Made us run for four hours from one hospital department to another, “he said. She was then admitted to the gynecology department, he said.

The hospital denied allegations. Is Thakur, a senior hospital official, said that the child’s family had initially admitted it to the department of pediatrics, but that it had been sent to the department of ear, nose and throat) because of its injuries.

“As we do not have intensive ENT care, the child was transferred to the intensive care of the gynecology department,” he said, adding that the child had been brought to an advanced life ambulance, which is equipped to offer intensive care.

“The allegations of a delay in obtaining a hospital bed is baseless,” said Thakur.

The child’s fate began to do news after a viral video has shown members of the opposition congress party competing with hospital staff, demanding that it be admitted.

The opposition parties in the state have organized several demonstrations since the death.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said that the girl’s death was “extremely shameful” and demanded that strict measures be taken against negligent officers.

“The victim of rape waited for hours outside PMCH to be admitted … What is the use of large buildings built in the name of hospitals when there is chaos, corruption, bad conduct, lack of resources and insensitivity all around?” The main state opposition party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, said on X.

The leaders of the BJP and JD (U) denied any negligence. Anamika Singh Patel, spokesperson for the BJP, described the death of “unhappy” daughter.

“But I go a hospital myself and I know that obtaining a bed in a hospital is a process that takes time. The people of our government are working responsiblely,” she said.

The incident also drew attention to the state of the Bihar medical infrastructure, months before the state assembly elections were held.

Last month, a patient in another government hospital in Patna said that a rat bit his toe while he was sleeping. Hospital authorities had launched an investigation into the incident.

Tuesday, in a scathing editorial entitled Bihar’s Shame, the Journal Times of India highlighted the desolate state of the hospitals of the State. He referenced a recent report This revealed that only half of all the fans in government hospitals were functional and that the capital Patna had only one government doctor for 11,541 people. This report is much worse in rural areas.

Follow BBC News India on Instagram,, YouTube, X And Facebook.