3 yr-old boy dies after swallowing coin; relatives allege govt hospitals refused to admit him
Kochi: A three-year-old boy died after he accidentally swallowed a coin at his home near Aluva, with relatives alleging that government hospitals where he was taken to had refused to admit him as he came from a COVID-19 containment zone.
Health Minister K K Shailaja termed the incident as "very unfortunate" and directed the Principal Secretary (Health) to submit a report after a thorough enquiry. Stringent action would be taken if any lapses were found, she said in a statement.
The boy's relatives alleged that he was denied treatment as their residence fell in a COVID-19 containment zone at Kadungallur near Aluva.
They said the incident occurred on Saturday morning following which the parents took the child to the Aluva government hospital, where an X-ray was done and revealed the presence of the object. However, the hospital authorities allegedly did not admit the child.
A senior doctor there claimed that the boy was not admitted as there was no pediatric surgeon and so he was referred to the Ernakulam General Hospital. Doctors there examined the child and referred him to the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, for better medical care, where too he was allegedly not admitted.
The doctors reportedly advised the parents to give their child fruits, which, they said, would result in the coin passing through his motion. The parents, who belong to a poor family, took the child back to their home in Kadungallur.
However his condition worsened by evening and they rushed him to Aluva government hospital, but he died en route, police said. The body would be handed over to the parents after post-mortem, health authorities said. His swab has been collected for COVID-19 test, they said.
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Surat LS candidate Nilesh Kumbhani whose nomination form was rejected suspended from Congress
Ahmedabad, Apr 25: The Gujarat Congress on Friday suspended from the party for six years its Surat Lok Sabha candidate Nilesh Kumbhani, whose nomination form was rejected over discrepancies leading to the BJP's Mukesh Dalal getting elected unopposed.
A statement from the Congress said the party's disciplinary committee decided to suspend Kumbhani after thorough discussion, adding it had come to the conclusion that the nomination form was rejected due to gross negligence on his part or "in connivance with the BJP".
"To be fair to you we have given time to you to explain your case but instead of coming before the party disciplinary committee you have gone incommunicado. After your form was rejected by the authorities, BJP went ahead and got form of other eight candidates withdrawn. This has deprived people of Surat their voting rights," the Congress disciplinary committee headed by Balu Patel said.
"People of Surat and party workers have become very angry due to your action and are expressing their anger in different ways. The Congress party has decided to suspend you for six years from the party," the press note said.
Kumbhani's nomination form was rejected on April 21 after his three proposers submitted affidavits to the district returning officer claiming the signatures on the document was not theirs.
The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress' substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated on the same grounds.
In his order, Returning Officer Sourabh Pardhi said the three nomination forms submitted by Kumbhani and Padsala were rejected after prima facie discrepancy was found in the signatures of the proposers and they did not appear to be genuine.
Kumbhani, a former corporator from Surat, had unsuccessfully fought the 2022 Assembly polls from Kamrej there.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha constituency on April 22 after all other nominees, including one from BSP, withdrew from the fray one by one on the last day of withdrawing papers.
