Traffic on the Chalsa-Mainaguri stretch of NH717 in Jalpaiguri district came to a halt for around seven hours on Thursday when a group of residents blocked the road in protest against the death of an infant following vaccination.
The one-and-a-half-month-old daughter of Kaushik and Kabita Adhikari died after she was administered a vaccine by the health staff of a local suswasthya kendra (health centre), the protesters alleged.
Sources said the couple had taken the girl to the health centre in the Uttar Jharmatiali area in the Lataguri panchayat of Kranti block on Wednesday.
Sources said the girl was administered the Pentavalent vaccine with IPV and PCV, which is a combined vaccine to prevent diseases and infections like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib and Hepatitis B, along with polio and certain bacterial infections.
“At night, her condition deteriorated. She started sneezing and later, phlegm and blood oozed out of her nose. The couple took her to the super-specialty hospital in Jalpaiguri where she died,” said a local source.
Around 10.30am on Thursday, Kabita and Kaushik, along with some villagers, assembled at Kranti More. They raised a blockade, alleging that the infant had died because of vaccination.
The protesters burnt tyres on the road, which halted traffic. A section of the agitators vandalised three NBSTC buses.
A team from the Kranti police outpost arrived and spoke to the agitators. Later, senior police officers reached the spot.
“My daughter has died because of vaccination. The health workers who administered the vaccine to my daughter should be arrested and legal steps should be taken against them. They are responsible for the death,” said Kabita, the bereaved mother.
Dipankar Kar, the block medical officer of health of Mal block denied the charge. “The deceased girl was a premature baby. The health workers followed all the rules while administering the vaccine to her. We don’t find any fault on their part. Even then, the family is free to file a police complaint,” he said.
The health centre remained closed on Thursday. The health workers could not be contacted over the phone.
As the day rolled, the protests intensified and more and more people assembled in the area. In the afternoon, senior police officers and officials of the district health department and the administration reached the spot. They spoke to the family and their neighbours and promised that the matter would be investigated.
“If any fault is found on the part of the health workers, appropriate steps would be taken against them. We have also asked the family to hand over the infant’s body to the police so that a post-mortem can be conducted to ascertain the exact cause of death,” said Samir Ahmad, the additional superintendent of police (rural) of Jalpaiguri.
Steps will also be taken against those who vandalised the government buses,
he added.
Based on the assurance, the blockade was withdrawn around 5.40pm, after almost seven hours. The family handed over the body to police for post-mortem, sources said.