Five Women Die After C-Section Deliveries Within a Week at a Rajasthan Hospital, Sparking Political Row

Five women died within six days at Bhilwara's Mahatma Gandhi Hospital after caesarean deliveries, prompting the hospital to shut its operation theatre and form a probe committee, while former CM Ashok Gehlot raised sharp questions over the state's healthcare system.

A deeply troubling case has emerged from the Mother and Child Hospital attached to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in the Bhilwara district headquarters, where five women died within just six days, throwing the hospital administration into turmoil. All five women had undergone delivery through surgery, that is, caesarean operations. As soon as the matter came to light, the hospital shut down its operation theatre, commonly referred to as the OT, and a separate committee was formed to probe the exact causes behind the deaths.

What Hospital Officials Said
Dr Arun Gaud, PMO of Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, said the operation theatre was shut after the investigation report came in. According to him, each of the five women died of different causes, some due to low haemoglobin levels and others because of unrelated illnesses. Dr Gaud added that a committee has been formed to investigate the entire matter and that the team is working to get to the bottom of it.

 

Six Member Panel Set Up to Investigate
Family members of the deceased women have directly blamed the hospital's doctors for the deaths. Following this, the principal of the medical college constituted a six member panel of senior doctors, which is currently examining the case. In the midst of this, on Friday, 32 year old Sangeeta Jeenger, a resident of Potla village in the district, suddenly fell ill. She was rushed to the medical ICU, but died during treatment.

Ashok Gehlot Slams the State Government
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot reacted sharply to the case on Twitter. He wrote that the deaths of five women within just six days at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Bhilwara were heartbreaking and deeply worrying, and expressed his condolences to the grieving families. Gehlot alleged that caesarean operations continued to be performed even after the infection report for the operation theatre came back positive, and that having just five surgical sets available for thirty to forty operations directly points to gross negligence and a collapsing medical system. Referring to earlier incidents in Kota, Bikaner and Jodhpur, he said the situation now unfolding in Bhilwara was equally disturbing. He questioned whether the state's BJP government had simply left Rajasthan to fate, since such incidents kept surfacing one after another, suggesting the government had no real concern about the issue. Gehlot demanded that the Union Health Ministry send a team of experts to properly assess and diagnose the conditions in various hospitals across Rajasthan, so that the lives of women undergoing delivery could be saved.

Hospital's Response to Gehlot's Allegations
The hospital administration responded to Gehlot's allegations as well. PMO Dr Arun Gaud said no infection has been confirmed in connection with any of the five deaths. He said the hospital's operation theatre functions strictly according to set rules, and that a meeting of all department heads had already been convened over the issue. According to Dr Gaud, nursing staff working on the ground inside the operation theatre are regularly trained, and continuous sampling is carried out to guard against infection. He said samples had been sent to headquarters three days earlier, and after the sample from the gynaecology operation theatre failed, that particular theatre was immediately shut down.

Causes of Death Revealed at Collector's Meeting
On Saturday, Bhilwara District Collector Jasmeet Singh Sandhu held a meeting with senior hospital officials, where he was given a different cause for each death. The meeting was told that two of the women died of cardiac arrest, while a third died of a lung related problem, namely pulmonary embolism. In the fourth case, no operation had even been performed, as the woman was simply pregnant. The fifth woman was not actually a delivery patient at all, she had only a gynaecological ailment and her surgery had been a planned procedure.

What this means for you
• Across India: The case reopens questions about safety standards, operation theatre hygiene and the availability of surgical equipment in government hospitals during childbirth, a concern relevant to patients nationwide.
• In Bhilwara, Rajasthan: With the gynaecology OT at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital shut down, pregnant women in and around Bhilwara who depend on this hospital for deliveries may need to seek alternative arrangements or another hospital until the investigation is complete.

Questions & Answers

1. Which hospital is this case linked to?
It is linked to the Mother and Child Hospital attached to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital at the Bhilwara district headquarters.

2. How many women died and in how many days?
Five women died within six days, and all of them had undergone caesarean deliveries.

3. What steps did the hospital take?
The hospital shut down its operation theatre, and the medical college principal formed a six member panel of senior doctors to investigate.

4. What did Ashok Gehlot allege?
Gehlot alleged that caesarean operations continued even after the OT's infection report came back positive, and that only five surgical sets were available for thirty to forty operations.

5. How did the hospital respond to Gehlot's allegations?
PMO Dr Arun Gaud said no infection had been confirmed and that the OT operates under set rules, though the gynaecology OT was shut after its sample failed.

6. What causes of death emerged at the district collector's meeting?
Two women died of cardiac arrest, a third of pulmonary embolism, a fourth had no operation performed at all, and the fifth wasn't a delivery patient but had a planned gynaecological surgery.

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