After 4yrs, chargesheet against doc for culpable homicide

LUCKNOW: How slack police investigations progresses in medico-legal cases may be gauged from an old incident. After a wait of four years, police have finally framed charges against a private doctor of the city who was accused of administering wrong drugs to a mother of three and causing her death.
Private practising doctor Vipul Shah was booked under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 420 (cheating) in August 2011.Government doctor A K Srivastava from Lohia hospital is facing the same charge in the Shivam Shukla death case. Orthopedician Shah was not arrested and got relief from court.
In August 2011, Jankipuram resident Sudhir Kumar Srivastava had lodged FIR at Qaiserbagh police station against Shah. A senior manager at a private bank, Sudhir’s wife Nidhi died in January 2011. Mother of three little children, Nidhi (40) was undergoing treatment at a private hospital located on Cantt road near Burlington crossing.
“Despite being well aware of the risks, Shah administered liver toxic drugs to my wife,” said Sudhir, who had been fighting for justice for the past four years. He added, “She had complained about shoulder pain. Though she was not suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, Shah prescribed Leflunomide, a hepatotoxic drug which induced hepatitis.
Finally, early this month, Sudhir got a letter from the investigating officer. Sub-inspector T P Verma probed the matter thoroughly and slapped charges against the doctor. Verma informed Sudhir that charge-sheet against Shah was being filed in the court against IPC sections 304 and 420.
The struggle seemed never ending—in this period, the investigations changed hands five times and two IPS officials tried to influence the probe in doctor’s favour. Srivastava had moved application before UP Medical Council and Medical Council of India, which barred him from practice for three years.