Days after the Allahabad High Court stayed the suspension on the licence of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi, social media was rife with disinformation about the death of 121 people in the Munshiganj area of the city.
On Friday (6th October), a propaganda news outlet by the name of ‘4 pm’ interviewed an alleged employee of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, who made outrageous claims about the death of 121 patients due to lack of medical attention.
An alleged nursing staffer by the name of Saurabh Mishra claimed that a whopping 121 residents of Amethi died due to the closure of the hospital. “Some are dying en route to Lucknow, others are not getting medicines on time. There are not even cotton swabs and bandages,” he claimed
“Around 121 patients have died in just 15 days,” Mishra continued. “This is the politics of vengeance…They (BJP) hate Gandhis,” he brazened out.
Prior to him, another alleged employee of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital named Umashankar Pandey claimed that the licence of the medical facility was suspended due to the BJP’s disdain for the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
“Smriti Irani (MP from Amethi constituency) hates the fact that ‘Gandhi’ name is attached to the hospital. Now, they (BJP) are hurting the employability of small-time workers,” he was heard as saying.
After the clips of the video went viral online, the Congress system exploited the opportunity to create hysteria about the supposed death of more than 120 people in Amethi.
It must be mentioned that the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi is run by the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust (SGMT), which is headed by Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi.
Congress loyalist Shantanu claimed, “In hate of Rahul Gandhi and the Gandhi family, @smritiirani and the BJP govt of Uttar Pradesh took lives of 121 people as the functioning of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital was stopped…” He later deleted his tweet.
flesh alive passed the sell by date.The max sucking power of her throat and lungs it's all down hill from here,1.6 B Indian slaves being treated like animals.Shame on dirty Indian politics/politicians.Feku &Gang should be hanged, not worth living on planet earth.Sooner the better
— Rakesh Dhody (@rakesh_dhody) October 6, 2023
Other propaganda artists also shared the claims about the death of 121 patients. On Friday (6th October) night, the District Magistrate & Collector of Amethi, Rakesh Kumar Mishra, rubbished the false claims being propagated on social media.
एकदम भ्रामक एवं गलत बात कही जा रही है। किसी की मृत्यु नहीं हुई हैं। जनपद अमेठी के सभी सरकारी चिकित्सालयों में दवा आदि की कोई कमी नहीं है। तथ्य के विपरीत जनस्वास्थ्य के बारे में अफवाह फैलाने के विरूद्ध वैधानिक कार्यवाही की जाएगी ।
— DMAmethi (@DmAmethi) October 6, 2023
“Completely misleading and wrong things are being shared. No one has died. There is no shortage of medicines in any government hospital of Amethi district,” he informed. “Legal action will be taken against spreading rumours about public health contrary to facts,” the District Magistrate of Amethi warned.
The Background of the Controversy
Earlier in September this year, the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi came under the scanner over the death of a 22-year-old woman named Divya Shukla. The victim went into a state of coma after being administered anaesthesia, prior to a kidney stone operation.
Shukla was then referred to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow, where she eventually passed away. The district administration ordered the closure of the hospital, citing medical negligence, and directed the suspension of OPD and emergency services.
A case was also registered against 4 employees of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital for negligence. On Wednesday (4th October), the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court put the order of the district administration on hold and directed the resumption of services.
