Kozhikode (Kerala) | An investigation by the Kerala police has found that forceps were accidentally left inside the stomach of a woman after surgery due to alleged medical negligence by the doctors of a government medical college here.

The police launched the investigation following a complaint by the woman alleging that she faced health complications after undergoing a caesarean at the Government Medical College hospital here in 2017.

A senior police officer said on Monday that the investigation has confirmed that the forceps were accidentally left inside the woman's body after the caesarean section, which was an alleged act of negligence by the doctors.

"We have completed the investigation. We have given a report to the DMO to constitute a medical board to conduct further investigation," the police official told PTI.

Harshinia, the 30-year-old woman from Kozhikode, had filed the complaint seeking a probe in October last year.

The woman had undergone her third caesarean at the Medical College in November 2017, with her earlier two C-section performed in different private hospitals.

On September 17, 2022, the doctors of Kozhikode Medical College conducted a major surgery on Harshinia, who was suffering from severe pain, to remove a mosquito artery forceps that had been in her stomach for the past five years.

The mosquito artery forceps is a scissor-like piece of equipment used by surgeons to clamp bleeding vessels during surgeries.

The medical college officials had initially denied any negligence, citing her previous caesareans in private hospitals. However, the police's findings have prompted the authorities to constitute a medical board for further investigation.

The woman has been protesting against the medical college officials for the past two months, seeking justice for the incident.

Today, she expressed her satisfaction with the police investigation, as it has validated her claims of negligence.

The government had earlier announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for her.