36-Year-Old Woman Allegedly Died Of Botched Abortion, Not COVID-19; Doctors Arrested

Six people working in a hospital in India were taken into custody in connection to the death of a 36-year-old woman, who died following a botched abortion.

The doctors at a hospital in Navi Mumbai, located in the western state of Maharashtra, had initially claimed the pregnant woman had died of COVID-19. However, following a police investigation, it was later revealed the reason for the death was her botched abortion.

The victim, who was six months pregnant, has been identified as Ashwini Thavai. The doctors at the hospital had prescribed the woman an abortion pill, but it resulted in the incomplete termination of her pregnancy, the Times Now reported Tuesday.

On May 1, the woman was told she could undergo a surgery at the medical facility, which was fully equipped to carry out the procedure. However, the woman became critical due to excessive bleeding. The doctors said the woman needed to be put on a ventilator to recover, but they did not have the facility.

The woman was later shifted to another hospital, where she died within 45 minutes.

After the woman died of the botched abortion, the doctors at the first hospital attempted to pass it off as a COVID-related death. The accused said the woman died of COVID-19 and refused to hand over the victim's body. However, an antigen and RT-PCR test results came negative, which led to further investigation.

It remains unclear how the accused received the woman's body after she died.

A police complaint was filed against six people, including two who worked at a pathology laboratory. All six accused in the case have been booked under relevant sections by the police, ABP-Majha reported. [Google Translate showed]

India on Tuesday reported 14,623 fresh COVID-19 cases and 197 deaths over the last 24 hours. Overall, the cases and deaths have seen in a decline in the last few weeks.

Last month in a case of medical negligence, a woman died after doctors accidentally left a piece of cotton inside her stomach during a cesarean section. The woman was identified as 20-year-old Chintala Mamatha from the southern state of Telangana. Mamatha died following a year-long battle with infection caused by the material that remained undetected inside her abdomen. The doctors who performed the surgery accidentally left a cotton swab inside her body, which led to her complaining of stomach pain.