A 71-year-old woman died after being subjected to an allegedly wrong surgical procedure as a result of a name mix-up at the trauma centre of Banaras Hindu University. Her family claimed that a thigh surgery was performed on her instead of the required spinal tumour operation, officials said.

The error, according to hospital sources, happened due to a mix up of common first names -- Radhika -- of the deceased and another woman patient who came in with a complaint of fracture in her leg.

The deceased woman, identified as Radhika Devi from Amritpur, had been admitted to the hospital on February 25 with complaints related to a spinal cord tumour, her grandson Mrityunjay Pal alleged.

According to him, she was undergoing treatment under the supervision of a doctor. On March 7, she was taken in for surgery, but instead of operating on the spine, doctors allegedly performed a procedure on her thigh.

"When no fracture was found, the wound was stitched and she was brought out of the ICU," Pal claimed, adding that the alleged error led to complications in her condition.

He said the woman's health deteriorated thereafter, following which she underwent another surgery on March 18 and remained admitted in the hospital. The woman died on March 27.

Responding to the allegations, Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) Director M N Shankhwar said a complaint has been received and a four-member committee has been constituted to probe the matter.

"Further action will be taken after the committee submits its report," he said.

According to hospital sources, there were two women with the same name, one complained of spinal tumour while the other had a fracture in the leg.

"The hospital investigation has found that the woman who was admitted in the neurosurgery department was 71 years old, while the name of the woman admitted to the orthopaedics department was Radhika Singh, who was 82 years old," the source said.