Doctors escape as their bail pleas dismissed in Nashwa death case

Two of the doctors nominated as suspects in the Nashwa death case escaped from the City Courts on Friday after their bail applications was dismissed by a district and sessions judge.

The district and sessions judge (East) revoked the interim bail of Dr Atiya Ahmed and Dr Sharjeel Hussain. The doctors had earlier obtained protective bail from the Sindh High Court, which had directed them to appear before the trial court.

Nine-month-old Nashwa died on April 22 nearly two weeks after she was allegedly given wrong treatment at the Darul Sehat Hospital. According to her father Qaiser Ali, the infant was given an excessive injection which paralysed her and later caused her death.

Five people, including nursing incharge Atif Javed, nurse Sobia Irshad, nurse Agha Moiz, admin officer Ahmer Shahzad and security incharge Waleed-ur-Rehman, are in jail on judicial remand as the court seeks final charge sheet in the case.

On Thursday, the police filed an interim charge sheet before a District East judicial magistrate, incorporating the Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 in the FIR. The magistrate had sought the final challan from the investigation officer by May 5.

In addition to the detained suspects and the two doctors whose bail were cancelled, the IO nominated six more people in the interim charge sheet as absconders. They include private hospital’s chairman Amir Chishti, vice-chairman Syed Ali Farhan, executive director Dr Shehzad Alam, HR director Ifran Aslam, Dr Rizwan Azmi and Syed Shabbar Hussain Zaidi.

The charge sheet read that CCTV footage collected as evidence in the case showed Sobia preparing the injection which Agha gave to the infant. It added that the arrested suspects, except Waleed, had already confessed to their negligence. The histopathology analysis report of the infant is still awaited. Around 25 people have been named in the interim charge sheet as witnesses.