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Tout raj: Unable to pay Rs 50 bribe, man dies waiting for bed in Mamata's Bengal

A 75-year-old ailing man from Kolkata, was left to die as he could not pay an bribe of Rs 50.

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The value of Rs 50 may not seem much for most of us, but today, it has cost an old man his life. 

A 75-year-old ailing man from Kolkata, Anowar Hossain was left to die, just because he could not pay an extra bribe of Rs 50.

The Park Circus resident waited inside the Medical College and Hospital premises for several hours. When his family members admitted him to the OPD (out patient department), he was referred to the Emergency department of the hospital by the doctors attending him. Failing to find a bed at the Emergency department, the doctor said that he will not be able to carry out a surgery to squeeze out water accumulated in his stomach.

A Group-D staff of the hospital asked for a bribe of Rs.200 from the victim’s daughter. The daughter had only Rs.150, which she offered to him and asked him to give a few hours time to pay another Rs.50. That staff, refused to provide a bed unless she paid the entire amount.

While the daughter tried to manage another Rs.50, her father lay in pain. Having been neglected for hours, the old man eventually died a slow painful death. 

“I repeatedly requested the hospital employee to provide a bed to my father, so that he can be operated. He asked for Rs.200, but I had only Rs.150. I told that person that I would pay Rs.50 little later. But, he refused to listen and left my father to die,” said Hossain’s daughter.

Immediately, the family members and relatives of the deceased put up a demonstration at the hospital. The police had to rush to the hospital to bring the situation under control.

This incident has once again exposed the bitter reality that rules the hospitals of Kolkata – the ‘tout raj’.

Incidentally, Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government is being providing free beds and treatment at all state-run hospitals. Despite the beds and the treatment being provided for free, touts across Kolkata hospitals continue to harass patients for money. 

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