Mumbai MRI death: CCTV nails Nair culprits who caused Rajesh Maru's death

Rajesh Maru died on January 27

The culprits in the death of Lalbaug resident Rajesh Maru have finally been identified. The BMC committee, which was set up to investigate Maru's death at Nair hospital, has said in a preliminary report submitted on Friday that a ward boy and a female attendant are responsible for the incident. This was established after the two were seen in CCTV footage. Meanwhile, the family is still waiting for Maru's missing finger and the promised compensation.

"Through the CCTV footage, we found out that the ward boy and female attendant at the MRI centre didn't follow the safety rules. They should have stopped Maru from going inside with the cylinder. They have already been suspended and we will hold another inquiry against them," said Idzes Kundan, additional municipal commissioner (health). "This was just the preliminary report, there will be another, more detailed one," Kundan added. Dr Ramesh Bharmal, the superintendent of the hospital, said he is unaware of the findings of the report.

Rajesh Maru's parents Galal and Shyamji. File Pic

Hospital was overburdened
Maru died on January 27 after being sucked into the MRI machine at Nair hospital. The report has also indicated that on the day of the incident, the hospital was overburdened with patients and because of this, the staffers did not follow the policy of having two relatives with each patient. Kundan said, "We would also check whether the rule of having two relatives per patient was being followed, and other security lapses."

A senior BMC official confirmed there was tremendous pressure on staffers due to lack of manpower on the day of the incident. This is also considered as an essential point that led to the security lapses. The official said, "On the day of the incident, the MRI facility was overburdened. So, we would also decide on the measures to be undertaken to handle such a rush with limited manpower."

Family awaits finger
Maru's family, in the meantime, is still waiting to receive his finger that got stuck in the machine. As per BMC officials, the finger will be returned once the investigation is over. The family has not even received any assurance about the compensation.

"We are tired of following up with BMC regarding the finger and the compensation. But so far, we haven't received either. The officials just keep giving us dates after dates," said Harish Solanki, Maru's brother-in-law.