3 Depts Killed Probe: It Began With Botched Panchnama A 60-year-old woman, Afroz Begum, died after falling into an electrified water-filled pit in Auliya Nagar, Nagpur, sparking a controversy over procedural lapses by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Nagpur police, and the Govt Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) forensics department. The incident has exposed a glaring failure in investigative protocols, with the police’s botched “panchnama” (a formal record of the crime scene) undermining the credibility of the initial “heart attack” theory of her death. The NMC’s electrical department report, released after the incident, revealed damaged live cables and snapped wires in the water-filled pit, directly contradicting the police’s initial findings. Despite the electrical inspector’s report being available, the police did not share it with the forensic team, raising suspicions that the lapses were intentional. Sources from GMCH stated that the Sakkardara police submitted a panchnama that omitted critical details, such as the presence of damaged cables in the pit. Instead, the document vaguely mentioned “some people at the spot talking about electrocution,” leaving forensic experts without the necessary context to analyze the case accurately. The police’s failure to send an electrical inspector to the scene and their delayed sharing of the report with the forensic department have drawn sharp criticism. A retired senior police officer emphasized that a panchnama is a crucial document for forensic experts to correlate external injuries with the crime scene. The absence of detailed descriptions of the pit’s condition, the body’s position, and the surrounding environment in the panchnama has left the autopsy report, which attributed the death to a heart attack, in question.#nagpur_municipal_corporation #nmc #govt_medical_college_and_hospital #gmch #afroz_begum
Maharashtra Govt Commits to Funding GMCH Cancer Unit Amid Legal Pressure Maharashtra’s government has pledged to release the crucial 30% advance payment required for procuring a linear accelerator machine at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Nagpur, following a court directive. The assurance was made during a hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) case concerning the deteriorating infrastructure and lack of medical equipment at government hospitals in Vidarbha. The Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench, presided over by a division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode, was informed that the funds would be disbursed in June to facilitate the procurement of the advanced cancer treatment equipment. The linear accelerator machine, essential for radiotherapy and advanced cancer treatment, was granted administrative approval in 2018 at an estimated cost of ₹23.20 crore. However, prolonged delays in the project have nearly doubled the total cost to approximately ₹45 crore, necessitating an additional ₹22 crore. The state government informed the court that directions for releasing the additional funds had already been issued. During the hearing, it was also revealed that the Nagpur district administration had allocated ₹52 crore to GMCH through the District Mineral Foundation and District Planning Committee funds to bolster medical infrastructure. The court has been actively monitoring healthcare deficiencies in government hospitals across Vidarbha through ongoing PIL proceedings. These cases have repeatedly highlighted shortages of critical equipment, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of specialist facilities.#nagpur #bombay_high_court #maharashtra_govt #gmch #linear_accelerator_machine
