The Hospital Emergency Officer at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack announced the unfortunate death of Dusmanta Das, a 30-year-old man from Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district, who had attempted suicide near the Odisha Assembly by consuming pesticide. Das passed away at the hospital on Thursday, as confirmed by Emergency Officer B N Maharana.
Das, hailing from Kujang in Jagatsinghpur, attempted suicide on Wednesday by consuming pesticide and cutting his wrist in protest against the alleged denial of treatment under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BKKY).
Following his demise, the SCB Medical College Hospital authorities conducted a postmortem on Wednesday night, and Das’s funeral took place at Swargadwar in Puri early Thursday morning, according to police sources.
Prior to his hospitalization, Das had claimed that despite undergoing surgeries at the SCB Medical College Hospital after a road accident on March 22 the previous year, he was discharged due to the COVID-19 situation. Alleging negligence on the part of the hospital and doctors, Das stated that his surgeries did not yield the desired results.
Before resorting to drastic measures, Das had sought euthanasia to alleviate his suffering. Despite undergoing surgeries on his injured leg in March and June 2020, Das continued to experience pain and dissatisfaction with the medical care received.
Addressing allegations of negligence, the Hospital Emergency Officer described Das’s death as an unfortunate incident. Maharana asserted that Das received comprehensive treatment at the hospital, with surgeries performed by a team of doctors from the plastic surgery and orthopedic departments. Maharana further stated that Das was discharged from the hospital upon his request to continue treatment at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, for physiotherapy.
Das is survived by elderly parents, a wife, and a three-year-old daughter.
