On May 23, Waseem Ahmad Pathan walked into Paras Hospital for what his family believed would be a routine surgery to treat an intestinal infection. He never walked out. Hours later, the 34-year-old from Bilal Colony, Pampore, was declared dead.
The hospital called it a complication. His family called it negligence. Outside the hospital gates, neighbours and relatives gathered in protest, shouting for justice. Some wept, others demanded answers.
Soon after, the Chief Medical Officer of Srinagar suspended eight staff members, including senior surgeons, anesthetists, ICU staff, and an operating theatre technician. None of them were allowed to work until the official investigation ended.
But what shocked many was that one of the doctors named in the suspension order hadn’t worked at the hospital for eight months.
Dr. Shah Naveed had resigned from Paras Hospital on October 1, 2024. By May 2025, he was working at Ujala Cygnus Superspeciality Hospital, just a few miles away.
So when his phone started ringing with people asking what happened during the surgery, he didn’t understand. Then he saw his name listed on the operative note.
“I was not present. I was not involved. I had no role whatsoever in that surgery or incident,” he said in a public statement.
The mistake wasn’t small. The same note made its way into the official suspension order from the government. Dr. Naveed said it caused him “emotional, reputational, and financial harm.”
So how did it happen?
Paras Hospital later said the issue came from its software. The hospital’s operation theatre system had copied data from a previous surgery, they explained, and accidentally inserted Dr. Naveed’s name. They called it a “clerical error” and sent an apology to the CMO.
But many weren’t satisfied with that explanation.
“How can a hospital use old templates to fill in who performed surgery on a patient who died?” asked a senior doctor, who didn’t want his name published. “This is not a typo in a prescription. This is life and death. This is someone’s name and career.”
Others pointed to a bigger problem: what happens when a hospital’s record-keeping system can’t tell who really operated on a patient?
“This isn’t just about one doctor being falsely named, it’s about a system that can let something so basic go unchecked even in a death case,” said another doctor familiar with private hospital practices in Srinagar.
Experts say accurate documentation is the backbone of any medical case. When it fails, patients, families, and doctors suffer.
“It’s not just embarrassing, it’s dangerous,” said one public health official.
What’s more, the hospital’s apology didn’t mention any new safeguards. It didn’t say whether staff had been trained to check documentation or if the faulty software had been fixed.
Online, doctors and health professionals rallied behind Dr. Naveed. “Solidarity with the truth,” one wrote. Others said they had worked with him and knew he wouldn’t be part of such a case.
By the weekend, the anger had moved from hospital corridors to social media timelines. A post with his suspension notice crossed hundreds of views on Instagram alone.
Kashmir Observer reached out to Paras Hospital for comment. A hospital representative said a callback would be arranged on Monday.
But for many, the damage is already done. A young man is dead. A doctor’s name was dragged through the mud. And the hospital now faces hard questions about how such an error could happen, and what it plans to do about it.