Charges of culpable homicide against Kerala minister dropped

 
Published: Friday 15 June 2007

The police dropped charges against the Kerala health minister P K Sreemathi and Sheela Shenoy, a gynaecologist on May 23, 2007. A case of culpable homicide was registered against them and others after the death of as many as 38-new borns over the last few months at a government hospital in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The case had been registered on a directive of the additional chief judicial magistrate after a complaint by P Vikraman Nair, Thiruvananthapuram's bjp convenor. The infants had died allegedly due to infections caused by unhygenic conditions in the labour room at the Sree Avittam Tirunal (sat) Hospital. The others charged in the case were a sat doctor, nursing superintendent and labour room assistants. The hospital superintendent was also charged for not reporting the deaths.

Police dropped the charges saying Sreemathi had not heard any reports of infant deaths before the media came out with it. They did not find sufficient grounds to charge Shenoy.

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