Protests at Pune hospital over death of pregnant woman ‘denied’ admission

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry to be headed by the Pune-based Joint Charity Commissioner.

Social activists and political workers demonstrated outside the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Friday after a woman named Tanisha Bhise died earlier this week, allegedly after being denied admission there. While the charitable trust-run hospital released its internal inquiry report on Friday, the Pune police have forwarded their own findings to the District Medical Council.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry to be headed by the Pune-based Joint Charity Commissioner.

On March 28, Tanisha, the wife of the personal secretary of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC and seven months pregnant with twins, was rushed to the hospital after complaining of bleeding. Her family said the hospital refused emergency treatment and demanded ₹20 lakh per baby for admission, ₹5 lakh upfront.

The family agreed to deposit ₹3 lakh and the rest in later instalments, but claimed that the hospital denied admission and asked them to shift Tanisha to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital. She was taken by the family to Surya Hospital in Wakad instead where she delivering two baby girls, but was later was shifted to Manipal Hospital in the Baner area due to complications. Tanisha succumbed to multi-organ failure on March 31.

Tanisha’s family lodged a complaint with the police about the incident on Thursday.

While BJP workers on Friday vandalised the office of Dr. Sushrut Ghaisas, the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital doctor who had reportedly asked for the deposit, Shiv Sena and Congress workers protested separately outside the hospital.

In its report, the hospital admitted asking for ₹20 lakh for the delivery since the twin pregnancy involved complications and the patient would have to be kept at the neonatal infant unit for over two months. “Ms. Bhise has been a patient of the hospital since 2020 and was advised to adopt a child. She missed the regular check-ups suggested by the doctor due to her risky pregnancy. Dr. Ghaisas suggested Sassoon Hospital so that delivery could go smoothly,” the report stated.

Published - April 05, 2025 08:07 am IST