A female homeopathic doctor was held for culpable homicide after a 20-year-old pregnant woman died hours after giving birth to a baby girl through a cesarean at her clinic in Rajkot.

The deceased has been identified as Payal Solanki (20). The doctor is identified as Dr. Heena Patel, who runs Foram Hospital on Shahpur Main Road, Rajkot. She has a diploma in homeopathy and surgery (DHMS). Dr. Heena was previously held for performing sex determination tests in 2019. The doctor had been treating Payal for the past four months.

Payal had labor pain on Friday, and her husband took her to the hospital for an examination. Dr. Heena suggested hospitalizing her and delivering the baby girl in the evening. Unfortunately, Payal passed away approximately two hours after giving birth.

However, the deceased's father, Jitu Solanki, registered a complaint against Dr. Heena at the Bhaktinagar police station. Jitu Solanki alleged medical negligence, which led to his daughter’s death.

Jitu Solanki said that the infant was shifted to another hospital after the delivery. The doctors were seen moving around in panic. Whereas some doctors came with oxygen cylinders and some machines.

When Solanki asked Dr. Heena, they said Payal had suffered convulsions. Afterward, they were told that Payal died due to some cardiac complications.

As per the complaint, Jitu Solanki asked Dr. Heena about hospital infrastructure and resources to deal with the complications and threatened to call the police. Although the doctor threatened to die by suicide if he called the police. She said that it was their sheer misfortune that Payal died.

Assistant commissioner of police (east), B. V. Jadhav, said that Dr. Heena is a homeopath doctor and not qualified to treat pregnant women. They will also write to the health department to cancel her license.

Dr. Heena was arrested under Section 304 of the IPC and sections of the Atrocities Act.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Komal Bhoi/MSM)