10 February,2026 08:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The accused was arrested by suspect has been arrested by the police, officials said. Representational Pic/File
A 21-year-old woman died in Navi Mumbai after allegedly receiving injections from a ward boy who posed as a doctor, police said on Monday.
The incident occurred on February 5 in Vashi area of Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, and the accused was arrested the following day, officials said.
According to the police, Prachiti Bhikuram Bhuvad's family contacted Sandesh Yashwant Pashte, who introduced himself as a doctor, to treat her irregular periods.
He visited the family's home in Sector 11 and claimed she was suffering from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Pashte allegedly charged the family Rs 15,000 for a course of five injections, stating that he would administer them personally, reported the PTI.
On February 5, Pashte gave her two injections. The woman then fell unconscious, causing panic. Pashte reportedly instructed her father to discard a bag containing used syringes and medical waste in the rubbish. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead two hours later, according to the PTI.
When questioned by the family, Pashte admitted that he was actually a ward boy at a private nursing home in Andheri, Mumbai. Following the complaint, he was arrested on February 6 and booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, cheating by personation, and other offences, the news agency reported.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old girl from Geeta Colony in Delhi has died after allegedly consuming acid. According to her father, Nand Kishore, the incident occurred on October 29, 2025, and she died while being taken to the hospital for treatment. He claimed that a relative, his cousin's brother-in-law, who lives on the floor below, had given the acid to her, according to the ANI.
"My daughter was made to drink acid on October 29. My cousin's brother-in-law had given it to her. He lives on the floor below mine. She would have turned 16 on 8 March. The police say they are investigating. She died while I was taking her to the hospital," he told ANI.
However, the Shahdara police clarified that a medico-legal case was filed at Maulana Azad Hospital on October 29 2025, where the record only mentioned "acid ingestion", and no history of assault was reported.
"At that time, the girl and her mother stated that she had ingested the acid voluntarily following an argument with her husband, Bhura alias Subhash, a resident of Thiryasalahpur village in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh."
Police said that later, on January 29, the victim's mother lodged a complaint at Geeta Colony Police Station, alleging that her daughter had been sexually assaulted by Bhura and forced to consume acid on 29 October 2025. Based on this complaint, a case was registered under Sections 65 and 351(2) of the BNS and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
"The victim reportedly gave contradictory statements before the magistrate regarding the acid ingestion," police said.
Following the incident, the girl was not admitted to any hospital and stayed at her parents' home. On February 7, 2026, her father brought her to the emergency department of LNJP Hospital, where she was declared dead. An autopsy was conducted the following day, on February 8, police said.
(with PTI and ANI inputs)
