“Following irregularities in payment, the government temporarily halted the second scheme bringing the extra rush back to government hospitals,” Dr Bedi told The Indian Express. He said he was perplexed by the action against him because the committee had found that the doctors tried their best to save the patients who had developed complications. “There are strict instructions not to refuse admission to anyone,” he said, referring to the overcrowding.

Hospitals like Sultania have long written to the government to increase facilities on urgent basis. Dr Bedi claimed that the relatives of the dead women did not ask for a post-mortem. “If they were unhappy with us, they would have insisted on autopsy,” he said, adding that one woman was brought dead.

Upma Rai, a member of the Women’s Commission, said the hospital was flooded with patients and simply could not cope with the rush. “The wards are crowded with patients and their relatives who fill in for attendants because the hospital has inadequate staff,” she said, refusing to comment on the deaths. “It is a referral hospital catering mainly to very complicated cases... Our action will depend on the expert committee’s report.”