The government on Monday initiated an inquiry into the death of a 42-year-old woman in a Howrah nursing home, following allegations of medical negligence.

Chief medical officer of health (CMOH) of the district Shankar Saha said that the first phase of the inquiry would focus on whether the nursing home had the necessary infrastructure to operate on Ritika Chakraborty.

?We will inspect the operating theatre, check out the nursing home?s infrastructure and also ask for the credentials of the accused doctors,? he said.

Following Ritika?s death on Saturday after an unsuccessful surgery, her family members levelled allegations of medical negligence against five doctors, including the surgeon.

Police detained two doctors named in the complaint by the dead woman?s brother, but later had to release them.

?We can?t arrest the doctors, but we have registered a case against all five. A magisterial inquest was conducted and the body sent for post-mortem,? a district police officer said.

A recent dictum of the chief minister bars police from arresting doctors. The former director-general of police Shyamal Dutta had sent a missive instructing superintendents of police not to arrest doctors acting on FIRs.

The cops said the investigation process is complicated in medical cases. ?We have informed the CMOH. He has formed a medical panel to probe the death,? an officer said.

Ritika had been suffering from a toothache. Her family members said the accused advised them to admit her to the nursing home. The kin alleged that they were not consulted before the surgery.

?They operated without our consent. We were not asked to sign a bond, which is a must before any surgery,? said Ritika?s brother Asit Chakraborty.

Following his complaint, police picked up doctors Amit Dey and Sandip Khan, who were present during the surgery.

The case has been registered under 304/A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (causing death due to negligence). Barring RMO Dey and surgeon Khan, the other three doctors are anaesthetist Saibal Mallik, dentist P. Sahana and medicine specialist Manas Das.

Ritika?s relatives have decided to appeal to the state medical council. ?We won?t spare the doctors. We will knock on every government door, including the chief minister?s,? asserted Ritika?s nephew Suman Banerjee.