‘Expired’ saline case: HC directs Bengal govt to pay compensation to victims’ families

Kolkata: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, directed the West Bengal government to pay compensation to the families of all the victims who had fallen sick, with one woman and a child already dead, after being allegedly administered with expired Ringer’s Lactate at a state-run medical college and hospital last week.

While one woman, Mamoni Ruidas died on January 10, the latest victim on Thursday morning was the newborn baby of another mother Rekha Shaw, who had also fallen sick last week after being allegedly administered with the expired Ringer’s Lactate. Three other women are currently under treatment.

Two public interest litigations (PILs) were filed in the matter earlier this week at the Calcutta High Court.

Acting on the PILs, the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hirnamay Bhattacharya, on Thursday, besides directing the state government to pay compensation to the families of the victims, also directed the administration to submit an action-take report in the matter to the court within the next two week.

In the report, the division bench directed the Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, to elaborate on the details of actions taken against the Ringer’s Lactate supplying entity Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, which was blacklisted first by the Karnataka government and subsequently by the West Bengal government.

Meanwhile, the state health department has already ordered the removal of the erstwhile special secretary to the state health department (medicine department) Chaitali Chakraborty in connection with the “expired” saline tragedy. She has been replaced by Suvanjan Das.

On Wednesday, the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari demanded that Central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) be involved in the ongoing probe into the matter being conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police and a team of the state health department.

The state health department first directed the medical superintendents-cum-vice principals of all medical colleges and hospitals and all the chief medical officers of the districts “to ensure total stoppage of the existing stock of Compound Sodium Lactate Injection (RL) supplied by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd in his/her jurisdiction”. Later, the state government also directed the removal of stocks of all medicines supplied by the said company from all healthcare entities in the state.

IANS