UP: Fake Doctor found guilty of culpable homicide, gets 10 years imprisonment

Lucknow: The owner and manager of a private hospital in Agra have been convicted of culpable homicide and were given imprisonment of 10 years by an Agra court in a case where a woman passed away after she underwent an abortion in 2011. 

The court found the accused, identified as Kumarpal Singh, 55 guilty of causing miscarriage without taking the consent of the woman under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act as he was the one who had performed the abortion, reports the Indian Express.

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The assistant district government counsel (Agra) Rupesh Goswami said, "Kumarpal Singh operated on the woman, who was three-month pregnant and damaged several of her internal organs, including her uterus. During the investigation, it also came to light that Kumarpal Singh had no medical degree."

Stating that six prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial, Goswami said, "The court, however, acquitted another accused – Rajendra Singh — on the benefit of the doubt."

The accused was out on bail and was taken into custody after his conviction. The incident took place on March 24, 2011, when the three-month pregnant Manisha was taken to Maa Shringar Hospital by her husband, Bhuri Singh when she complained of stomach pain. Kumarpal examined her following which she was admitted to the hospital. The former subsequently operated on her with the help of one nurse, reports the Indian Express. 

It was stated, "During the surgery, several organs of Manisha got damaged. When her condition got deteriorated, Kumarpal told Bhuri Singh to shift his wife to another hospital, and fled… Bhuri took Manisha to another hospital where he was told by doctors that several of her internal organs were badly damaged. Five days later, the husband filed a complaint with the Agra district magistrate detailing the incident. He also claimed that Kumarpal conducted the abortion procedure on his wife without taking consent."

An FIR was registered against Kumarpal and unidentified staff members of the hospital under IPC sections 313 (causing miscarriage without woman's consent) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide). 

Manisha died a month after treatment on April 29, following which the police also added section IPC 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) to the charges of the accused. As per the charge sheet, Dr Kumarpal and Dr Rajendra Singh were booked under IPC sections 313, 304, and section 7 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. 

The district administration also performed a probe into Kumarpal and his hospital. The prosecution observed, "They found that the hospital was not affiliated with the chief medical officer of Agra. It was found, that Kumarpal was not having any medical degree. The hospital was then sealed by the district administration."

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