At noon on Tuesday, Bani Hari, 35, was admitted to MR Bangur Hospital with acute abdominal pain. Twenty-four hours later, she went missing from her hospital bed. Another 24 hours later, on Thursday afternoon, her body was recovered from Regent Park with multiple injuries.

Bani, a resident of Alipore Road, near Chetla, was brought to the hospital by her sister-in-law Bhagabati, on a reference from local councillor Bobby F. Hakim, as her family could not afford the treatment.

Hospital sources said Bani was admitted under the care of physician J.P. Bose. “When the doctor did his rounds around noon on Wednesday, she was prescribed a fresh list of medicines and he mentioned in his report that she was responding to treatment. But she was certainly in no condition to leave the hospital on her own,” they added.

“I was there with her all of Tuesday and the next morning. But around 4 pm on Wednesday, I was told by Jadavpur police station that she was missing from her bed,” recounted Bhagabati.

“I ran to Hakim saab to tell him about the incident. I have no idea how she could leave the hospital without anyone noticing her,” she added.

Councillor Hakim blamed the hospital for lack of security: “How can they be so callous? I still can’t figure out how a patient, who till yesterday couldn’t walk because of the pain in her abdomen, walked out of the hospital a day later.”

Hakim added: “I feel there has been foul play and police should probe the case properly. I saw her suffering and I am sure she did not leave the hospital on her own. Her body, too, was found under mysterious circumstances with multiple injuries.”

South 24-Parganas superintendent of police Siddhinath Gupta, however, said that according to Regent Park police reports, Bani’s body was found near Gachhtala and investigations revealed that she could have been run over.

“Officers on the case think she had boarded a bus in front of the hospital and while getting off, had slipped and was crushed under the wheels. We are looking for the vehicle,” Gupta said.

But there are a few questions that baffle the cops. “It is, indeed, difficult to explain why she should head for Garia when she lived near Chetla. We are also trying to find out how she reached the spot more than 24 hours since she went missing. At the moment, we cannot even say if she was murdered,” said an officer of Regent Park police station.

MR Bangur Hospital superintendent Debasish Haldar has instituted an inquiry. “It is unfortunate that a patient admitted in the hospital went missing and was later found dead elsewhere. I will personally look into the matter,” Haldar asserted.