Shamna case: Crime Branch probe still inconclusive

KOCHI: It is one year into the death of Ernakulam Government Medical college MBBS student Shamna Tasneem on Tuesday, but the Crime Branch probe into her death has not reached the courts in the form of chargesheet and  Shamna’s aggrieved father K.A. Abootty still knocking at doors to get justice. The current investigating officer in the case DySP George Cherian told DC on Sunday that the investigation into the case in the final stages. However, the report that was prepared by DySP K A Sasidharan who made an exhaustive investigation into the case prior to his transfer recently has made a damning indictment of the entire Ernakulam Government Medical College system and people through whom Shamna passed as a patient.

The report, that has been accessed by DC through an RTI application, was placed before the State medical apex board on April 26 this year but no follow up has been made on that. It also raised several questions before the apex medical board for its expert opinion on key aspects also. Mr Geroge Cherian said that the answers to them have been received recently. When Sasidharan had completed the entire investigation into the case and was awaiting the report of the medical apex board on the aspect of medical negligence when he was transferred. The crucial report of Sasidharan has come down on medicine head Dr Jilse George, Dr Krishna Mohan, two senior doctors who attended Shamna at two stages. It has also come down on doctors at Rajagiri Hospital, Aluva where she was admitted for expert treatment.

The report also says that from nurses to house surgeons to junior and senior residents at the medical college, none followed standard procedures in the treatment of Shamna. The house surgeon who treated her on the first day of admission on July 17 did not even consult or inform the duty MO Dr Fincy regarding the treatment given to her. Regarding Dr Jilse George, the report, among other things, says that he did not ensure that all required lifesaving medicine and equipment are available at medical wards which led to non-availability of them during complications to Shamna.

The report which also came down on PG student Dr Bino Jose also finds that entries were made in the case sheet after the arrival of Dr Jilse, after Shamna turned critical, with the intention of “patching up the lapses” and for “manipulating the entire story” and “Dr Jilse abetted student Dr Bino Jose in this regard.” The report says that duty physician Dr Krishna Mohan  provided Shamna with bag and mask ventilation instead of mechanical ventilation which was available after she collapsed. He also did not mention anywhere in the case sheet or referral letter that Shamna’s complications arose after she was admininistered Ceftriaxone injection. In the referral letter to Rajagiri Hospital, he wrote she suffered cardiac arrest following fever, respiratory distress etc. He also did not care to check and verify “whether the patient was dead or alive at the time of shifting to another hospital.”

Leelamma and Thankamma in the nursing department have also been faulted while Dr Anil Kumar, medical superintendent, is in the dock for lack of equipment. The principal Dr Sreekala has been faulted for not attempting to examine Shamna and verify whether she is dead or alive after her arrival to the ICU. The report also says that Dr Elsie,  Dr Jacob and Dr Sunny Orathel who is the medical superintendent at Rajagiri who were responsible for treatment there did not care to check whether Shamna was alive or not before or during the procedures at Rajagiri. Most of the questions raised by the CB DySP to the apex medical board pertain to its opinion on various medical personnel’s contribution to Shamna’s death.