The visuals of a devastated father carrying the dead body of his daughter in his arms from Karimnagar government hospital in Telangana has triggered wide outrage in the state. The father, identified as Sampath Kumar, walked at least 500 meters towards Mancherial road junction carrying the little girl's body, as the hospital authorities allegedly declined to provide an ambulance unless he paid them Rs 5,000.
“My brother is a daily wage labourer. He didn’t have money to pay them. As the hospital refused to provide ambulance service my brother left the hospital carrying my niece, weeping on the road. The doctors also were very negligent,” alleged Rajaiah, Sampath Kumar's brother.
Later, a compassionate auto-driver let Sampath take his daughter's body home in his vehicle, according to media reports.
On Saturday, Sampath Kumar, a resident of Kunaram village in Peddapalle district, had admitted his 7-year-old daughter, Komalatha in the Karimnagar Government Hospital. Komalatha was suffering from a kidney-related ailment. As both her kidneys failed, Komalatha died the very next day.
The story with the haunting images was carried in Telugu newspaper Velugu, which led to wide outrage against the hospital. However, the hospital authorities have denied the allegations and claimed that the incident was misreported.
The hospital Superintendent said that the media reports were 'baseless accusations’ and added that he would welcome an inquiry into the incident.
Speaking to TNM, the hospital Superintendent Dr Ajay Kumar said, “The reports are absolutely false. It has demonized us and caused immense pain. We are ready for a probe into the incident, we want to come out clean.”
According to the Superintendent, the girl’s father, Sampath, left the hospital carrying the dead body of his daughter without informing the hospital authorities. “The girl died around 2 pm. The father must have been devastated with it, as he couldn’t contain his emotions he just left the hospital without informing the Resident Medical Officer or the staff. He did not approach us seeking our help to arrange the vehicle. None of the staff were aware of the incident.”
“The incident has projected us as heartless humans, and many are outraging against us without knowing about the entire episode,” he said.