Dhenkanal: A 35-year-old patient died after allegedly jumping from the fourth floor of Dhenkanal District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), sources said Saturday. The incident triggered protests by his relatives over the hospital authorities’ alleged failure to inform the family members about the incident.
The deceased was identified as Manoj Dehury, a resident of Gandhi Mandir Road in Dhenkanal town. He had been admitted to the hospital two days earlier after suffering from epilepsy and high blood pressure. According to hospital authorities, Manoj was seen wandering on the fourth floor around 1 a.m. Saturday.
However, he reportedly went missing from the medicine ward subsequently and his body was later found on the ground. Hearing a dull, heavy sound, security personnel rushed to the spot and brought him to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. His relatives alleged that the hospital authorities did not in form them about the incident and kept the body in the morgue. The alleged lapse sparked anger among relatives and acquaintances, who staged protests on the hospital premises Saturday morning.
Tension escalated around noon as protesters demanded accountability. Sadar Tehsildar Swadhin Behera reached the spot along with police personnel and held discussions with the protesters. He assured them that assistance would be provided through the district Red Cross fund, following which the situation returned to normal.
Town police registered an unnatural death case (50/2026) and sent the body for post-mortem, police inspector Dhiren Kumar Behera said. This is not the first such incident at the hospital. Two other patients had died earlier in similar incidents.
The latest incident has prompted demands for immediate measures to strengthen patient safety and prevent similar tragedies.