India: Aged man held hostage in hospital over non-payment of bill
- By Web Desk -
- Jun 06, 2020
In an unfortunate incident, an aged man and his daughter were held hostage by a private hospital after they were unable to pay the health facility’s bill due to COVID-19 pandemic.
According to details, the incident occurred in India where an 80-year-old patient Laxmi Narayan was tied to the hospital’s bed with a rope while his daughter was also denied to leave the health facility’s premises after they were unable to pay half of the treatment dues.
Narayan, a resident of Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh state of India, was admitted to the hospital following some ailments.
The man upon being admitted had already paid a bill of Rs 11,000. However, after the treatment they were asked to pay another sum of Rs 11,000. As the duo was not able to pay more amount, the hospital staff kept both of them as hostages.
Read More: Cash-strapped hospitals threaten to refuse patients
The hospital conveyed to them that they would not be able to leave the hospital unless they arrange the outstanding payment.
Narayan alleged he was denied food and water while being held hostage at the health facility for the past five days.
The daughter of the victim also said that she had already paid the hospital with whatever money she had and could not arrange more money due to COVID-19.
Read More: India approves antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 patients
It is pertinent to mention here that the India’s COVID-19 tally has surpassed the 200,000 mark as over over 6,000 people have currently succumbed to the infection.
The pandemic likewise in other parts of the globe has also witnessed shutdown of business activities in India, forcing many people in one of the second most populous country of the globe to suffer from it.