In the courtyard of his single-room house in Kota’s Crusher Basti, a grief-stricken Ravi Nayak stands packing away a yellow-and-red shamiana, arranged for his 20-year-old wife’s funeral. After seeing the final mourners leave his rented residence, the 21-year-old is tense with rage, sorrow and fatigue.

“My wife suffered anxiety, and later, she stopped urinating. Because of this, her body became swollen and she was unable to open her eyes,” Ravi says.

Ravi Nayak’s wife Jyoti died this week after enduring kidney failure at the New College Medical Hospital in Rajasthan’s Kota — one of two new mothers who died after developing comparable complications following C-section procedures on the same day in the hospital’s gynaecology ward. This happened after the women reported uneasiness, chest pain and difficulty passing urine.

With one of the four new mothers who became unwell still believed to be in critical condition, the hospital is now urgently searching for answers — not only about what triggered the deaths but also how to stop further cases. Doctors say all six women developed jaundice and were unable to urinate.

The hospital has placed all four mothers on dialysis and is now waiting for the post-mortem reports. Meanwhile, the condition of the mothers means five newborns are still in the hospital’s neonatal ICU since they cannot be breastfed.

The second biggest healthcare facility in Rajasthan after Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital, Kota Government Medical Hospital has more than 800 doctors — including 600 resident doctors — and treats 5,000 patients in its Out Patient Department every day.

“This is the first occasion in the history of the hospital that such cases have been reported. No doctor wishes for patients to suffer. We did everything possible to save lives but are still unable to determine the cause of this issue,” Kota New Medical College Hospital Additional Principal R P Meena told The Indian Express. “Jyoti’s platelet count was low, which caused continuous bleeding. One woman, Dhanni Bai, remains critical.”

But patients’ relatives blame the hospital for negligence. “My child is still in the hospital under observation. We don’t want this happening to anyone else. I want the toughest action against those responsible,” he says.

According to Additional Principal Dr Meena, the Kota New Medical College Hospital records an average of 220 normal deliveries and 225 caesareans each month. With a capacity of 100 beds, the hospital serves patients from districts such as Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar, Baran, Sawai Madhopur and even the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh.

Shortly after the incident, the Rajasthan government directed a team of four specialists from Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Medical College to travel to Kota. The team includes specialists from anaesthesia, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, and nephrology.

According to sources in the state’s medical department, the government had intended to airlift the ICU patients but has now paused the plan. The medicines and injections administered to these women have been prohibited in the state pending investigation.

Rajasthan Drug Controller Ajay Phatak, who visited the hospital on the evening of May 7, said his department had inspected the hospital and collected 23 samples of medicines, consumables and liquids. The inspection continued for 12 hours — from 10 am to 10 pm on Thursday.

“We need to determine whether other pregnant women who were given similar medications faced any complications. Further steps will be taken after the test report arrives,” said Phatak.

But these statements provide little comfort to the families of the women. As Kota Divisional Commissioner Anil Agarwal visits the hospital to meet the affected families, Sheela Bai, the mother-in-law of Dhanni Bai, who remains critical, greets him with folded hands.

“Please help us, we’re terrified. She has two daughters and now a newborn son. Who will take care of them?” she asks him, tears filling her eyes.