Girl dies, kin demand action against doctor

Coimbatore: A 20-year-old college student, who was taking siddha medicines for menstrual problems for the last four months, developed kidney failure and died without responding to the treatment at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital in the city on Monday.

Relatives claimed that the siddha medicines were the reason for G Sathyapriya’s kidney failure and demanded action against the siddha practitioner who treated her.

Police said Sathyapriya, a final year BA (political science) student at Government Arts College, had menstrual problems. Her father R Ganeshan, a daily wage labourer from Netaji Nagar at Kulathupalayam, took her to Manonmani Siddha Hospital at Selvapuram on January 20, where siddha practitioner Gurunathan gave medicines to Sathyapriya.

After taking few doses of the medicine, Sathyapriya’s face allegedly swelled. Gurunathan changed the medicine but her health condition deteriorated and she was admitted in a private hospital at Kuniyamuthur. She was again referred to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) on April 22, where she was diagnosed with kidney failure.

Meanwhile, Ganeshan lodged a complaint with the Selvapuram police against Gurunathan.

Police inquiry revealed that Gurunathan was not a quack. A team of siddha medical practitioners has collected the medicines given to Sathyapriya and sent them to a lab. They are waiting for the result.

Meanwhile, Sathyapriya died without responding to the treatment at the CMCH on Monday. Her relatives blocked the road in front of Government Arts College road here, demanding the arrest of Gurunathan.

However, the Selvapuram police registered a case under section 174 (suspicious death) of the CrPC. After the postmortem, the dead body was handed over to the family members on Monday afternoon.


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