A 32-year-old pregnant woman died during delivery at Thoubal District Hospital on Monday night, triggering widespread outrage among locals over alleged medical negligence. While the newborn survived, the tragic death of the mother led to vandalism of hospital property and disruption of services at the emergency ward.
The deceased has been identified as (Late) Maibam Ongbi Samita Devi, wife of Maibam Ajit, a resident of Tekcham Mayai Leikai in Thoubal district. Samita is survived by her husband, a soldier currently posted in Rajasthan who had returned home on leave for her delivery, their three-and-a-half-year-old son, and the newborn baby.
According to the husband, Samita was admitted to the hospital on July 27 due to labour pains. On the morning of July 28, she delivered a baby boy via a surgical operation performed by Dr. Sarat at around 11:00 am. However, by 4:00 pm, she reportedly began experiencing heavy post-operative bleeding. Despite repeated complaints by family members, hospital staff allegedly downplayed the situation, stating it was a normal condition following surgery.
As her condition deteriorated, painkillers were administered, but no critical care or blood transfusion was provided, the family claimed. By 10:00 pm, Samita’s condition had worsened severely. She was finally placed on oxygen support but showed no signs of improvement. At around 11:10 pm, she was found unresponsive. A medical check-up later confirmed her death.
The family alleged that crucial medical tests were not conducted prior to the operation, despite visible complications. They further claimed that there was a complete lack of medical intervention during the six-hour period when her condition was visibly declining.
News of the death spread quickly, prompting enraged locals from Tekcham Mayai Leikai and Thoubal Athokpam (Samita’s parental home) to gather at the hospital late at night. The crowd vandalized the hospital’s ticket counter and portions of the main gate. Police personnel from Thoubal rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control.
Tension persisted into Tuesday morning, with more people arriving at the hospital to protest the alleged negligence. Hospital services, particularly in the emergency ward, were disrupted after on-duty doctors reportedly vacated the ward amidst the commotion.
Samita’s body was shifted to JNIMS morgue at around 8:00 am for post-mortem. Locals continued to stage protests, demanding immediate and appropriate punishment against the doctor allegedly responsible for the incident.
Later in the day, a public meeting was held at Tekcham Mayai Leikai Community Hall, where a Joint Action Committee (JAC) was formed. The JAC submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Thoubal, Hanna Kamei (IAS), calling for stern action against the concerned doctor.
The memorandum demanded that the post-mortem be conducted in the presence of an Executive Magistrate with full video recording. It also sought a judicial enquiry into the incident and urged the district administration to take strict disciplinary action if medical negligence is established.