New Delhi: The family members of an 89-year-old woman undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Bhayandar have alleged that she died after being allegedly bitten by a rat on Sunday (March 15) night, reported Times of India.The patient, Suhasini Matekar was admitted at the Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Government Hospital in Bhayandar (West) on March 12 and was kept on ventilator support in the intensive-care unit (ICU).According to the TOI report, when the patient’s relatives visited the hospital on Monday (March 16), they noticed that there were injuries to Matekar’s hand and it appeared that a rat had gnawed at it.The relatives said that they noticed loss of blood from the injuries and alleged that the doctors and nursing staff on duty were unaware of it until they pointed it out.Milan Desai, daughter of Matekar, who is also an office-bearer of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Ba(UBT) for Pleasant Park, Mira Road (East), said that earlier she had seen rats and their footprints in the ICU.Desai alleged that her mother died after losing blood because of rat-bites.“It was only after we noticed the loss of blood due to rat bite that the staff got in action,”, said Desai’s brother, Milind Matekar, adding that it was shocking that the hospital staff didn’t realise that a patient in the ICU has been bitten by a rat.Dr Jafar Tadvi, the dean of the hospital said that construction work currently underway around the hospital premises has resulted in an increase in the rat population as excavation had also been carried out.He added that show-cause notices had been issued to the doctors and nursing staff on duty when the incident took place, and a departmental inquiry committee had also been formed, reported TOI.