A six-year-old girl died of septic arthritis at the Institute of Child Health near Park Circus on Friday, leading her family members to accuse the hospital of negligence.

Taniz Khatoon, a resident of Topsia, was pronounced dead at 2.50pm. Soon, 30 of her relatives and neighbours gathered at the hospital, prompting the authorities to call the cops.

Taniz was admitted to the hospital on Thursday with severe pain in her hip joint. “Doctors in the emergency ward asked us to get her admitted but we didn’t get a bed for five hours,” said her mother, Shamsur Nisa, 28.

The authorities acknowledged there was a delay in admitting the child as no bed was available, but denied any negligence on their part.

The mother, however, said: “There was no doctor at night, when my daughter’s condition worsened. A doctor came to see her only on Friday noon, by which time it was too late to save her.” Taniz’s father Anwar Ali, 36, said he would lodge a police complaint against the hospital.