Bardhaman Medical Negligence: Doctors Summoned by Medical Council

"My baby would not have been born premature. I admitted my wife to Sharanya Multispeciality Hospital in Bardhaman, West Bengal, on June 23, 2023, at about 1:40 a.m., and by morning she was deemed fit to go home. But they did not discharge her, and they kept delaying the discharge procedure. By evening, the hospital administered an injection that triggered sudden labour, leading to Mivaan’s birth at 8:07 p.m. After my baby was born premature, they kept him in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 43 days. During this period, my child did not receive proper treatment; neither was the blood culture done nor the critical ROP screening, because of which my child developed aggressive vision loss," recalls Hitesh Choudhury, Mivaan's father. 

In October 2024, The Probe brought attention to the parallel experiences of Mivaan and another infant, Adrita, both of whom were born prematurely at Sharanya Multispeciality Hospital in Bardhaman, West Bengal. These cases raised serious questions about the hospital's handling of high-risk newborns. Both children, delivered before full term, faced an elevated risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a condition that affects the eyes and can result in blindness if not identified and addressed promptly.

Medical guidelines clearly state that preterm infants should receive ROP screening within four weeks of birth to allow for timely intervention. Yet, the parents of both Mivaan and Adrita maintain that this critical procedure was overlooked, contributing directly to the vision impairment in their children. In Mivaan's situation, Hitesh further contends that the hospital not only postponed the screening during the NICU period but, upon finally discharging the baby after 43 days, advised the family to delay seeking an ROP evaluation for an additional 15 days—a directive that compounded the risks and left lasting consequences for the young boy's sight.

The Probe Impact: West Bengal Medical Council Summons Bardhaman Doctors

Following The Probe’s October 2024 report on the cases of Baby Mivaan and Baby Adrita, the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) investigated the allegations of medical negligence at the hospital in Bardhaman. The Council formally requested a detailed explanation from the hospital regarding the claims made by the infants’ parents, which centered on the failure to conduct timely retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screenings and other critical lapses in care.

In a recent development, the WBMC has summoned four doctors from the hospital—Dr. Balaram Ghosh, Dr. Mir Tahmid Zaman, Dr. Nibedita Samanta, and Dr. SK Sahabuddin—to appear before its Penal and Ethical Cases Committee on July 30, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. The parents of both Mivaan and Adrita, who have been relentless in their pursuit of accountability, will also attend this hearing. 

For nearly two years, the families of Mivaan and Adrita have endured a grueling quest for justice. Both children, now facing progressive vision loss, have been evaluated by specialists who have delivered a grim prognosis: the likelihood of restoring their eyesight is nearly nonexistent. Determined to hold the hospital accountable, the parents have pursued parallel avenues for redress, filing complaints with both the WBMC and the consumer court. 

Hitesh Choudhury, Mivaan’s father, has been vocal about additional irregularities uncovered during their legal battle. “We have approached the consumer court as well, and our next hearing is on 17 September 2025,” he said. “We have submitted before the court that even the nurses who are practicing in the hospital are not registered, and the court had asked the hospital to furnish the registration details of the nurses. But the hospital has still not been able to furnish the details.” 

Bardhaman Hospital Pulled Up for Negligence in Govt Findings

A report from the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) for West Bengal has lent substantial weight to the parents' assertions of negligence at Sharanya Multispeciality Hospital. In examining Baby Mivaan's case, the report explicitly points to the absence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening throughout his extended hospital stay as a key factor in his vision loss. 

"It is obvious from the BHT of the patient that ROP screening was not done during the baby's 43 days stay at Sharanya Multispeciality Hospital," the report states. "As per standard practices, ROP screening should be done within 4 weeks of delivery in any child of birth weight of less than 1500 grams or gestation age of less than 32 weeks. Accordingly, the baby should have undergone ROP screening during his stay at the hospital." 

Similarly, the CMOH report addresses Baby Adrita's situation, confirming that no ROP screening was performed during her 48-day admission at the hospital. It reiterates that standard guidelines require such screening within four weeks of birth for preterm infants, highlighting yet another instance where timely care was not provided. 

These official observations come amid broader scrutiny of the hospital's operations, particularly its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The hospital's website describes its NICU as offering comprehensive care for premature and critically ill infants, supported by advanced facilities and expert staff. Yet, the lack of on-site ROP screening capabilities raises fundamental questions about the unit's ability to deliver the level of specialised treatment it promotes.

Adding to these concerns, the CMOH report identifies evidence of possible tampering in the medical records. Specifically, it notes irregularities in the documentation for Baby Mivaan. "The original BHT of baby of Karishma Choudhury appears to be tampered," the report observes. "It appears that an engineered page has been inserted later on to prove that they have counselled the patient party about ROP screening."

ROP Screening Vital to Save Newborns’ Vision

The importance of timely retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening cannot be overstated for premature newborns like Mivaan and Adrita, whose early births placed them at significant risk for this potentially blinding disorder. Established medical guidelines emphasise that such infants must be screened within four weeks of delivery to enable prompt treatment and prevent irreversible damage. In Mivaan's case, Hitesh Choudhury maintains that the hospital not only failed to perform this essential procedure during the 43-day NICU stay but also compounded the oversight by directing the family to postpone any external ROP evaluation for another 15 days after discharge.

"After those 15 days, when I took my baby to a government hospital, I learned that my baby had developed an aggressive form of ROP, which was now at a critical stage," he recounted. "The doctors at the government hospital confirmed to me that it was because the hospital in Bardhaman did not do the screening that has led to such a condition in my child." 

Confronting the staff at Sharanya Multispeciality Hospital about these lapses yielded further admissions that pointed to internal shortcomings. Hitesh described approaching one of the doctors involved in his son's care, who acknowledged raising the issue of ROP screening with the hospital's director but noted that no steps were taken to address it. "The doctor told me he performed his duties and held the hospital responsible for this negligence," Hitesh explained. "I even have an audio recording of his statement." 

Neglect, Delay, and a Dire Medical Outcome

The delayed ROP screening has imposed lasting hardships on Hitesh and his wife Karishma, as they watched their son Mivaan's vision decline without recourse. They learned that he had already lost sight in his left eye, with the right eye deteriorating at an alarming rate. In search of specialised care, the family traveled to Sankara Nethralaya in Chennai, where Mivaan received multiple laser treatments, injections, and eventually surgery on his eyes—though the procedure could not restore function to the left one.

“My child is constantly losing vision,” stated Hitesh. “This is a lifelong condition; we have to travel for treatment twice a year, which has taken a toll on my business and my family’s mental health.” 

Pressure to Settle Out of Court: A Father Refuses to Back Down

Amid the mounting evidence of negligence, Hitesh Choudhury and the family of Baby Adrita continue to press for accountability through formal channels. Hitesh described the exhaustive efforts they have invested in seeking redress. “We have been literally struggling with our cases with the West Bengal Medical Council and the consumer court,” he said. 

“Our prayer before the concerned authorities is that for no fault of my child, my child will have to suffer for a lifetime. Yet the hospital which caused this suffering is still functional without being made accountable. I want the license of these four doctors to be cancelled. This hospital in Bardhaman is running level 3 NICU with permission from authorities even when they don’t have the basic facilities. This permission must be withdrawn. West Bengal District Consumer Court must give both me and Baby Adrita’s father the compensation we deserve because every year we are spending huge amounts of money for the treatment of our children. We are losing the financial means to cover the treatment anymore and we need the court to step in and give us the compensation so that our children can get the treatment.” 

Reflecting on the past three years, Hitesh highlighted the personal sacrifices required to care for Mivaan, including setting aside his business commitments for extended periods to prioritise medical appointments and procedures. This hiatus led to substantial financial setbacks, compounded by the annual expenditure of large sums on treatments. Beyond the economic burden, however, he stresses on the emotional toll on his family, particularly the anxiety surrounding Mivaan's surgery, which carried massive risks. 

“I can’t tell you how much mental pressure we have been going through, me and my wife,” he shared. “If the hospital had done that one mandatory ROP screening, my child would have been a healthy child like everyone else. But I can’t explain how much my child has been suffering. My child had to undergo such a critical surgery that as a parent I had to give consent that my child might not ever wake up after the surgery.” 

Despite the clear harm inflicted on two young children, Hitesh pointed out that Sharanya Multispeciality Hospital remains operational without facing any action. “They have started a 300-bed facility now,” he noted. “My advice to other parents who might be in Bardhaman and might be looking at getting such treatments from hospitals like Sharanya is that please go to government hospitals. I can tell you with confidence that government hospitals are much better than these so-called private hospitals.” 

As the legal proceedings unfold, time remains a critical factor for Hitesh and Karishma, with Mivaan's vision continuing to worsen amid delays in justice and compensation. Recent assessments have shown a marked decline in his eyesight, mirroring the progression in Adrita's case, which heightens the urgency of their appeals. 

“On 21 June we had done his testing,” Hitesh explained. “His power was -10 and now it is -11.5 on the right eye. The other child Adrita was -5 and now she is in -7.” 

Hitesh has also faced external pressures to resolve the matter privately rather than through the courts. He recounted instances where local authorities encouraged an informal agreement with the hospital and an out of court settlement. “The police station in Bardhaman under which this hospital falls... the police officials had called me and asked to come to the station and settle it with the hospital authorities,” he said. “I said my child’s eyesight is not so cheap that I will settle for money out of court and I rejected that offer. We have gone through a lot. We intend to go till the Supreme Court, if need be, to hold this hospital accountable for medical negligence.”