Rajesh Maru who was sucked into the MRI room was dead in minutes as the magnetic force pulled him inside the machine. He was the sole earning member of a family, who reside under the stairs of a building
In a shocking revelation for the grief stricken Maru family, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appointed a lawyer to defend its employees in the Nair MRI incident. This revelation was made by Opposition leader Ravi Raja on the floor of the house during the general body meeting.
Raja said, “The BMC has hired a lawyer to defend its employees in the Nair MRI incident. It was a clear case of negligence and instead of punishing the employees for the carelessness, the civic body prefers to appoint a paid lawyer and defend them in the court of law.”
Rajesh Maru, aged 32, grabbed the headlines when his death on January 28, sent shock waves across the entire medical fraternity. It was a death no one could wish even up for their worst enemy. A young boy and the only earning member of his family, Maru was killed due to the sheer carelessness and callousness of the employees of Nair hospital. The employees who will avail the benefit of the BMC-appointed lawyer will be the trio as mentioned in the FIR, resident doctor Dr Saurabh Lanjekar, Ward boy Vitthal Chavan and ward attendant Sunita Surve. A case of negligence causing death under Section 304 A was registered.
Raja said, “I had personally visited the boy's family after his death. They live in a 4x4 ft room under the stairs of a building. He was the only earning member for his family and earned about 16-18 thousand per month. Instead of providing his family with compensation, the civic body decides to appoint a highly-paid lawyer to defend its employees. According to my information the proposal to appoint this lawyer was signed by Additional Municipal Commissioner I A Kundan about 15 days ago. It is ethically and technically wrong for the BMC to provide any legal help to the accused named in the FIR.
Instead of providing compensation the BMC is making things difficult for Maru's family.”
He further added that he has demanded that the BMC form a policy for compensation in case such negligence takes place in future. “The BMC should make sure that its medical devices are of standard quality. No compromise can be made on that front. A hospital is a place where people come to save their lives.” added Raja.
He further added that although the BMC purchases expensive and world class machinery, it should make sure that there is a professional appointed for this sake. “It has been more than a month and since then, no action has been taken against any of the Nair hospital employees. For now the BMC should pay compensation to the Maru family on their own on humanitarian grounds.
AMC I A Kundan said, “We are yet to decide the protocol for appointing the lawyer. The final draft of the proposal is yet to come to me for approval, after that we will decide whether to appoint an in house lawyer or an outside lawyer.”
Harish Solanki Rajesh Maru's relative said, “We have no idea about the BMC appointing a lawyer for its employees. We do not even know about the proceedings of the case as to what will happen now but we surely want justice for our boy. We have not yet received the severed finger of Rajesh and we are awaiting the Forensic lab report.”
Dr Ramesh Bharmal, Dean of Nair hospital said, “I have no idea about the BMC appointing a lawyer. So far the only update I have is that the civic body has asked for an enquiry and we are awaiting the enquiry report soon.”