CMCH blames Siddha doc for girl’s death, commotion in Coimbatore

Police said Sathya Priya, a third year student of Government Arts College and daughter of Ganesan, 48, a daily wager from Netaji Nagar in Kovaipudur, had menstrual issues. “On the reference of a relative, she approached a Siddha practitioner in Selvapuram for treatment in January this year. The practitioner prescribed some medicine after merely examining her pulse,” police said.

However, after taking these medicines, the health condition of the girl deteriorated and she turned weak. When the family consulted him again, the practitioner prescribed few more medicines, assuring that the girl would recover after taking them. Yet, the girl did not show any signs of improvement.

She was then taken to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for treatment. The doctors diagnosed her to be suffering from renal failure. She had developed the complication after consuming some high dose medicine prescribed by the Siddha practitioner. The girl was then admitted in the ICU of the hospital.

Despite treatment, Sathya Priya died in the early morning hours on Monday. Meanwhile the family members and relatives squatted in front of CMCH, blocking the arterial road demanding immediate arrest of the Siddha practitioner for wrong treatment. The protesters claimed that police failed to take action despite them giving a complaint against the Siddha practitioner a month ago itself.

“I took her to the siddha practitioner for her menstrual problem. We came to know of the wrong treatment only after doctors at CMCH informed us of her condition,” said the girl’s father Ganesan.

They however had withdrawn the protest after police held talks with the agitators. Traffic was disrupted on the busy Trichy Road for a while due to the protest. Police have begun an inquiry to know if the Siddha practitioner was a quack.