HC wants probe report by Nov 15

The High Court yesterday sought the probe report on the incident of leaving a foetus inside a woman's womb after delivering a baby in Comilla.

The director general of the department of health services has been asked to submit the probe report to the HC by November 15.

The HC passed the order after the civil surgeon of Comilla yesterday informed the court that his office has handed over the probe report to the DG of the department of health services.

The court also ordered the owner of Gouripur Life Hospital and Digital Diagnostic Centre in Daudkandi of Comilla and its doctor Sheikh Hosne Ara, who left the foetus inside the woman's womb, to further appear before it on November 16 in connection with the incident. 

The HC bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and AKM Zahirul Hoque exempted the Comilla civil surgeon from personal appearance before the court.

The civil surgeon, Hosne Ara and owner of the hospital appeared before the HC yesterday as per its earlier directive.

On October 29, the HC summoned them to appear before it yesterday and also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain as to why they (the authorities) should not be directed to stop negligence in providing treatment to the patients. 

The bench had issued the order and the rule on a suomoto (voluntary) move following two newspaper reports over the incident, published in the daily Prothom Alo and the New Age on October 26.

Barrister Mahfuzur Rahman Milon placed the newspaper reports before the HC judges.

On September 18, the doctor, Sheikh Hosne Ara, delivered Khadiza Begum's baby girl by Caesarean section at Gouripur Life Hospital and Digital Diagnostic Centre.  

An ultrasonogram report during seventh month of Khadiza's pregnancy showed that she was carrying twins. However, during surgery, the doctor delivered one baby and stitched up the mother's womb without delivering the other, conjecturing that the other was a tumour. Soon after the surgery, Khadiza started to suffer from various complications. After another ultrasonogram revealed that the other twin was still inside her womb, Khadiza was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital on October 22.

On October 25, DMCH doctors conducted another surgery on Khadiza and delivered a stillborn baby.