In a distressing incident, two government doctors were discovered in an inebriated state while examining a child at Pulgaon rural hospital in Wardha district of Maharashtra.
Those two government doctors were identified as Dr. Pravesh Dhamane and Dr. Maniklal Raut. Both doctors were purported to be drunk, and authorities recovered a bottle containing approximately 180 ml of leftover alcohol from their car.
The child’s family, who came for a child examination, and colleagues were outraged upon discovering the intoxicated state of the doctors. This incident took place on Thursday. A video clip of this incident went viral on social media platforms. Afterwards, the Wardha police control room was alerted, and by the time the authorities arrived, a crowd had gathered at the hospital.
An offense was registered against both doctors under various sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act on Thursday night. Their blood samples were collected for testing at the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Nagpur.
Ankush Koche, a social worker who was approached by the aggrieved family, disclosed that Pulgaon Rural Hospital often operates without doctors. In this particular incident, when the child was brought to the hospital with a fever, the nurse declined to administer medicines due to the absence of doctors.
The district civil surgeon, Dr. Sachin Tadas, intervened and sent both Dr. Dhamane and Dr. Raut to the hospital. Although, to everyone’s shock, it was revealed that the doctors were under the influence of alcohol, this was further aggravated by the fact that this transpired in Wardha, a dry district. The incident has sparked widespread enrage and calls for accountability, particularly given the gravity of the situation and the violation of prohibition laws in the district.
The state health department has been informed, and an inquiry has been started to ascertain the full extent of the instance.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Komal Bhoi/MSM)
