Kolkata, Feb 22: Over six months have passed since the shocking rape and murder of a junior woman doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital but her parents are still to get a copy of her death certificate.

The body of the victim was recovered from a seminar hall within the premises of the state-run institution early on August 9 last year.

The victim’s parents have alleged that they have been unable to get the death certificate till now as the R.G. Kar and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) authorities are shifting the responsibility onto each other.

According to them, the KMC authorities are claiming that since the “place of death” is R.G. Kar, it is the responsibility of the hospital authorities to provide the death certificate.

On the other, the R.G. Kar authorities claim that if a patient dies within the hospital premises or is even brought dead to the hospital, the death certificate will have to be provided by the KMC authorities, the parents added.

The victim’s parents have further claimed that although they have not got a copy of the death certificate, it has been mentioned in the court documents, as per the statement of a medical officer attached to R.G. Kar.

They now say if the death certificate is mentioned in the court documents, why was a copy of the certificate not handed over to them?

Last week, a special court in Kolkata, which had convicted and sentenced civic volunteer Sanjay Roy in the rape and murder case, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a fresh progress report on its investigation in the matter on February 24.

Since the special court has already pronounced the sentence for the convict in the main crime of rape and murder, legal circles feel that the fresh progress report will be related to the angle of tampering with the evidence in the case.

It is learnt that the special court had directed the CBI to submit a fresh progress report following a complaint filed by the counsel of the victim’s family accusing the central agency of not updating the court on the progress of investigation in the matter periodically.

Bengaluru, Feb 21: The Karnataka government has sought assistance from the Union Health Minister in countering the menace of sale of drugs which have failed tests and further appealed to ensure steps to withdraw contaminated drugs from market all across India.

Minister for Health Dinesh Gundu Rao wrote a letter on Friday to the Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda in this regard.

“I am writing to bring to your attention the repeated instances of sale within Karnataka of contaminated injectable drugs manufactured in other states.

“Between January 1 and February 16, nine injectable drugs manufactured in other states failed sterility testing in our state government laboratories. The details of drugs, along with batch numbers, are provided in the annexure to this letter,” Minister Rao stated.

This list does not include numerous injectables manufactured by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals based in West Bengal, whose contaminated injectables caused the deaths of five young mothers in Ballari district of Karnataka, Rao said.

“While I am instructing my department to take adequate steps to ensure these drugs are no longer sold within Karnataka, it is highly likely that other contaminated drugs manufactured by these companies are being sold in other states in India. Injectables, as you are aware, are used in acute care and therefore are high risk to patients.

“Given the ‘life or death’ consequences for patients being administered these contaminated drugs, I request you to use your good offices to ensure that all products sold by these companies are withdrawn from the market across India and that these companies are not allowed to sell any more drugs until they are inspected by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP),” Rao urged.

Minister Rao further requested, “In addition, I also request you to create a system for all states and central laboratories to share alerts with each other regarding drugs which have failed quality testing, especially those failures which could potentially cause serious adverse events for patients.”

He further suggested, “In addition to sharing alerts with each other there should also be a legal requirement to share sales records from the manufacturer to enable seizure of the contaminated drugs from the supply chain before they are dispensed to patients.

“Lastly, we need a system to alert doctors, pharmacists and patients about the drugs that are failing testing in our respective testing laboratories. My department would be glad to assist in this regard.”

Rao has ended the letter stating that he is anticipating a positive response in this regard.

Mumbai: The number of suspected and confirmed cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra has risen to 211 as of Tuesday, following the detection of a new case, health officials reported. Of these, 183 cases have been confirmed as GBS, as per reports.

Massive Outbreak In Pune & Surrounding Region

Among the total cases, 42 are from the Pune Municipal Corporation area, 94 from recently added villages under PMC, 32 from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, 33 are from rural parts of Pune and 10 from other districts.

So far, 139 patients have been discharged, while 39 remain in intensive care units, and 18 are on ventilators, according to a statement from the state health department.

Nine Deaths Reported In State Related To GBS

The state has recorded nine deaths related to GBS, with four confirmed fatalities directly linked to the disorder and five additional deaths suspected to be due to it.

What Is Guillain-Barré Syndrome?

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nervous system. According to the World Health Organization, the disorder is often triggered by certain bacterial or viral infections.

It primarily affects nerves responsible for muscle movement and sensory functions such as touch, temperature, and pain. Patients with GBS commonly experience muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the arms and legs, and, in severe cases, difficulty breathing or swallowing.

While the exact cause remains unknown, GBS is often linked to prior infections, vaccinations, or major surgeries, which can lead to an overactive immune response that mistakenly targets the body’s nerves.