Basudevpur: A five-year-old girl from Badagapuru village under Padmapur panchayat died Saturday afternoon allegedly after being administered a wrong injection by an unlicensed practitioner, who operates a private clinic at Edatal Chhak in Bhadrak’s Basudevpur area.
According to reports, the child, identified as Sukanya Majhi, daughter of Kat Majhi and Sabitri Majhi, had been suffering from cold and fever. Around 5pm Saturday, her parents took her to the accused’s clinic at Edatal Chhak. The practitioner reportedly gave her preliminary treatment, including an injection and a syrup.
Within 10 to 15 minutes of receiving the injection, the child became unresponsive and collapsed. Alarmed, her parents rushed her back to the same clinic, but by then, she showed no signs of life. On realising the girl had died, the practitioner allegedly returned the Rs 500 taken for treatment and took back the prescription and syrup bottle in an apparent attempt to cover his tracks, locals said.
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Later that evening, the family took the child to the Basudevpur hospital, where doctors offi cially declared her dead. The incident sparked outrage in the community with locals calling for a full investigation and strict action against the practitioner. The child’s body has been sent to the Bhadrak District Headquarters Hospital for a post-mortem examination by Basudevpur police. Concerns over unqualified medical practitioners, commonly referred to as ‘quacks’, are rising in several panchayats of Basudevpur block in Bhadrak district. Despite the growing danger, the Health department and district administration have allegedly remained passive, allowing life-threatening malpractice to continue unchecked.
PNN
