Patient runs through hospital with tubes attached

Mumbai: It can only be described as bizarre. A man in his early forties became the latest victim of rooftop train travel after he sustained severe burns due to electrocution yesterday around 5.40 pm at Dahisar. Train services got delayed and the unidentified man was admitted to Bhagwati Hospital at MHB Colony, Borivli (West) at about 6.10 pm.

A few hours later, things took an extraordinary turn. At around 9.15 pm, the 42-year-old, who doctors claim has sustained 75 per cent burns, dashed out of his ward with tubes still sticking to him. He then began running maniacally throughout the hospital premises.

His first stop was the maternity ward, where many women and newborns were present. The women began screaming in fear as the man made faces and threatening gestures. Hospital authorities claim he is either mentally unstable or a drug addict.

"We saw a gleaming knife-like object (later discovered to be a badge) in his hands and think that he used it to free himself," said a source from Bhagwati hospital. The man began hurling abuses at doctors, other patients and attendants and then fled from the hospital premises.

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The security guards at the institute failed to overpower the man, as he ran outside. Sources say that there were mainly female nurses present at the time, as the men had gone for dinner. The man went to a nearby paan shop and began smoking some cigarettes.

Dr S Gawde, medical superintendent, Bhagwati Hospital said, "I have just been informed that the patient ran away from the hospital. It is really unusual that a person who has sustained 75 per cent burns runs away like this."

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Meanwhile, the man started walking towards various shops in the vicinity and continued to threaten people. He went to a nearby pizza outlet and people sitting there began running helter-skelter as he approached them. He was also asking for food while screaming incomprehensibly.

The man then began walking towards Dahisar and finally sat down on a footpath. He didn't allow anyone to come near him and was behaving violently. Finally at 10pm some policemen overpowered him and brought him back to Bhagwati Hospital.

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"The entire body of the victim is burnt and chances of his survival are bleak," said a doctor from the hospital on condition of anonymity.

No one had come to visit the patient till Thursday night and doctors claim they have been trying to find out his name and address so they can inform his family or friends.

'Hospital to blame'
Meanwhile, cops at MHB Colony police station put the blame on the hospital authorities for all the bedlam. "There are CCTV cameras inside the compound. How could they not restrain him when all the drama was happening inside the hospital?" said a police official on condition of anonymity.