Power Off, Flashlight On: Bihar Doctors Use Torches To Operate On Pregnant Woman

Two pregnant women underwent surgery under torchlight and mobile phone flashlights at Bihar's Jamui Sadar Hospital on Friday after a power outage in the operation theatre left doctors without electricity for nearly 45 minutes.

13 Sep 2026, 07:49 · NDTV

Two pregnant women underwent surgery under torchlight and mobile phone flashlights at Bihar's Jamui Sadar Hospital on Friday after a power outage in the operation theatre left doctors without electricity for nearly 45 minutes, according to hospital sources.

The two patients, identified as Pooja Kumari and Anjani Kumari, had been shifted from the maternity ward to the operation theatre, and their surgeries were already underway when the power supply was disrupted, doctors said. With the generator failing to provide immediate backup, the medical team continued the procedures using torches and mobile phone flashlights.

The doctors involved, Dr Shalini Kumari, Dr Raghunandan and OT assistant Amit Kumar, reportedly informed the civil surgeon and hospital superintendent about the incident.

A video purportedly shows one of the surgeries being carried out under mobile phone light. In the footage, the person recording can be heard saying that the operation theatre had been without power for a long time and that the issue remained unresolved despite being raised with senior officials. The video also shows a nurse directing a mobile phone flashlight towards the surgical site to help doctors continue the procedure.

Doctors also raised concerns about the incident in an internal hospital group, claiming that similar power outages had occurred in the past. They alleged that surgeries had previously been carried out using mobile phone flashlights during electricity disruptions. However, hospital manager Ramesh Pandey dismissed the claims, denying that any such incident had ever taken place.

Jamui Sadar Hospital deputy superintendent Dr Thanesh Kumar said the administration had received information about the incident and that a high-level inquiry was underway.

The episode has sparked fresh concerns over the hospital's administration, with sources claiming that power outages and backup failures have been recurring issues at the facility.

With Inputs From Gautam Kumar Gupta

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