Wayanad: Tension prevailed at the Wayanad Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) on Wednesday after Congress, Mahila Congress, and Youth Congress workers attempted to barge into the Superintendent’s office, protesting alleged medical negligence in which a cleaning cloth was reportedly left inside a woman’s womb following delivery.

The protesters accused the Health Department of failing to take action against the doctors and staff allegedly responsible for the incident. Following the protest, the department ordered an inquiry and constituted a three-member expert panel on Wednesday morning. Officials recorded the woman’s statement later in the afternoon.

According to the complaint, the woman delivered a baby at the hospital on December 20. She later developed severe abdominal pain and approached doctors multiple times over the next five days. However, she alleged that the medical staff did not take her complaints seriously. Though doctors prescribed medicines to "clean the stomach", the pain persisted.

The woman said that on December 29, a piece of cloth came out from her uterus, after which she experienced relief. She produced the cloth before the expert panel during the inquiry. “I need justice. My repeated complaints that something was stuck in my uterus were ignored,” she told reporters after submitting her statement.

Meanwhile, Wayanad District Medical Officer (DMO) Ancy Paul Jacob told Onmanorama that the inquiry by the three-member panel was underway. “I will submit the report to both the Director of Health Services and the Directorate of Medical Education,” she said. “I am not in a position to comment on the merit of the allegations at this stage. We have to wait for the expert panel’s report.”

However, experts dismissed the woman’s claim that the cloth was lodged in the uterus, stating that it may have been a misunderstanding. A gynaecologist who preferred anonymity told Onmanorama that, as it was a normal delivery, there is a possibility that a piece of cloth got stuck in the inner layers of the vagina. 

Similar cases have been reported earlier, especially during the post-delivery period, when some women insert cloth into the vaginal opening to check or manage bleeding and discharge. After delivery, a mixture of blood, mucus, and uterine tissue—known as lochia—is discharged through the vagina, often accompanied by abdominal pain, and may continue for several weeks, she said.

The protest later turned violent when Congress workers attempted to force their way into the Superintendent’s office. Police personnel deployed at the spot intervened, leading to a scuffle between the protesters and the police. Officers later arrested the protesters and removed them from the premises.

Block Panchayat members A M Nishanth and Mujeeb Kolidiyodan, Block Panchayat president Meenakshi Rajeevam, and Congress leaders Chinnamma Jose and others led the protest.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest in front of the District Medical Officer’s office on Tuesday, demanding immediate action against the doctors and staff involved in the alleged incident. BJP leaders K Jayachandran, Punathil Rajan, Suma Raman and Kannan Kaniyaram led the agitation.