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13 officials punished for Sangli blinding tragedy

Michael Gonsalves in Pune

Maharashtra State Health Minister Digvijay Khanvilkar said Monday that the government has ordered departmental inquiries against 13 officials in the infamous Sangli tragedy.

He said the action came after a preliminary inquiry held the officials responsible for blinding 13 villagers last month.

While Dr A R Rawal, the dean of the government medical college, Miraj, and Sangli Civic Hospital has been suspended, Dr Milind Killedar, a honorary associate professor in the SCH has been dismissed from service.

A departmental inquiry has also been instituted against both the doctors, the minister added.

Khanvilkar said the order specifies that Killedar should not be recruited again in government services.

The action followed after a preliminary inquiry revealed that "collective negligence" was responsible for the tragedy at the SCH.

Other suspended officials included ophthalmologist Ashok Mahadik, and the head of the ophthalmology department, Professor B R Bagade.

Hospital Superintendent S S Deshmukh, head of the microbiology department Professor Usha Udagoankar, head of the anaesthetic department B Nadkarni and medical officer from the mobile ophthalmology centre N D Khot have been transferred. Departmental inquiries too are on against them.

Khanvilkar said warnings have been issued to Chief Residential Ophthalmologist Arif Edenwalla as well as the rest of the staff attached to the operation theatre at the civil hospital, including Surekha Thakur, U G Velankar and Matron M I Momin.

The minister said the state government directed all hospitals to take precautions to avoid such recurrences. Work on standardising the procedure of intra-ocular lens transplant surgeries is on.

The intra-ocular lens transplant surgeries were performed on the patients who attended the eye camps in Shirala and Wakwa talukas at the SCH on January 2 and 3. About 20 were operated on again after they complained of pain due to eye-infection.

The government has also formed a viral infection control board. The first meeting of the board is scheduled on February 16, the minister said.

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