BOGTUI (
BIRBHUM
): A 35-year-old woman, who was admitted to Rampurhat hospital with 65% burns after eight houses in Bogtui village were torched on March 21 night, died of multiorgan failure on Monday. Najima Bibi was among the four rescued from the inferno and her death has now taken the toll to nine.
Doctors said Najima was responding to treatment in the ICU; had eaten and had even started speaking. "But, her condition deteriorated from Sunday night and she was put on ventilator support. By Monday morning, she had developed immense respiratory trouble and finally suffered multiorgan failure around 2pm," said a senior hospital official.
Najima's husband Sheklal Sheikh said the fire had taken away everything from him and the culprits must not be spared. "Our daughter and I now live in Kumardihi village and can barely meet daily expenses. The state government has given us rice, which is currently our source of sustenance. But, we want exemplary punishment for my wife's killers," he said.
During her visit to Birbhum last Thursday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had raised concerns about Najima's health. She had even offered to fly the burns victim to a Kolkata hospital, but doctors advised against it, citing greater risks.
Najima is the sister-in-law of Mihilal Sheikh, who again has already lost his mother, wife and daughter in the fire. Her teenaged daughter, Suktara Khatun, declined to accept the compensation offered by the government. "I want death penalty for those who set our house on fire and killed my mother," she said.
The CBI team probing the Bogtui massacre recorded statements of three survivors at the hospital on Sunday. While they were keen to acquire Najima's testimony, which they felt was crucial to the case, doctors denied permission.
Rampurhat hospital superintendent Karabi Boral said: "She (Najima) was in a very critical condition since admission. A medical team was formed for her. She was stable, but her condition deteriorated on Sunday and she didn't make it despite critical care measures."
Following Najima's death, doctors here are not taking chances and have started the procedure to shift a patient with 25% burns - Atahara Bibi, 45, wife of late Monirul Sheikh - to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata.