A 60-year-old diabetic patient, named Mohammed Mustafa, who had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat at the Nizamuddin Markaz last month and was housed at a quarantine facility in northwest Delhi’s Sultanpuri, died on Wednesday morning.
The death triggered protests by the occupants of the facility.
The people at the treatment centre told media that Mustafa lost his life due to negligence from authorities.
“He did not receive medical attention and food on time despite several requests to the doctors and the staff,” a patient who is quarantined in the same facility says.
“There were long gaps in the meals and even medicines are not available. The ambulance arrived late, even though I had been calling up the authorities for long,” Mustafa’s relative says.
Several patients at the centre from South Indian states came out of their rooms to protest the death and uploaded videos on social media complaining about a lack of doctors and adequate treatment.
The Delhi government ordered a probe into the death after other patients of the facility protested.
Mustafa, a resident of Coimbatore in Tamilnadu had been shifted to the quarantine centre from the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital.
According to National Herald, at the Sultanpuri quarantine centre, breakfast comes only at 11.30 am and that is two slices of bread and banana. Lunch is two rotis with a vegetable curry and dinner is usually 2 rotis with dal.
“He complained to me that he wasn’t getting enough medicine or timely food. For a diabetic, timely food is very important. And it is because of the non-availability of medicines and untimely meals that he has died,” Mustafa’s wife Razia Begum said, Firstpost reported.
“He did not get his diabetes medicine for 22 days.”
Adnan, a diabetic patient who now stays in the same centre told Firstpost that he is very afraid since the death of Mustafa yesterday.
“I myself don’t feel very well. How will a diabetic like me survive? We have to eat every two hours — that’s what the doctors have always told us. If we are not allowed to go out to even buy a packet of biscuits, the facility should provide it and take care of our medical needs. Negligence by the staff will only result in more casualties,” he said.
“He died due to the non-availability of diabetic medicines for more than three weeks. We repeatedly demanded to government officials regarding this and unfortunately, there was no one to take action,” Fathima Muzaffer, member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board told Maktoob.
“Many of them are not getting proper food and medicines on time at quarantine centers. It is unfortunate that in the time of a pandemic, some are busy with blaming the patients, not treating them,” Fathima who is also a leader of Indian Union Muslim League requested authorities to take immediate action.
