A first information report has been registered against two nurses at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal for allegedly administering an injection containing a hazardous chemical to a three-year-old cancer patient, The Hindu quoted the police as saying on Saturday.

Sarthak Yadav, a resident of Korja village in Sagar district’s Bina tehsil, died in December, soon after he was injected with formalin, a hazardous chemical used for preserving biopsy samples, according to The Indian Express.

He had been admitted to the hospital on December 15 for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a form of blood cancer.

The FIR against Madhubala Sharma and Anuka Gujarati was filed after an internal inquiry found evidence of gross negligence on their part.

According to the FIR, a syringe containing formalin had been prepared for a scheduled bone marrow biopsy, reported The Indian Express. However, the procedure was subsequently postponed.

Despite this, the syringe was neither discarded nor secured and was left on a locker near the child’s bed, according to the newspaper.

On December 17, Sharma used the syringe to flush the child’s intravenous line without checking its contents or label, the newspaper quoted the FIR as saying.

“During this time, the child’s father Siddharth Yadav cautioned and warned Nursing Officer Madhubala three times that the syringe did not contain IV flushing fluid and that it should not be administered to the child without consulting a doctor,” the FIR added.

Police alleged that the warnings were ignored and the child lost consciousness immediately after the injection. He was transferred to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, where doctors attempted emergency treatment, but he was pronounced dead later the same morning.

The hospital’s internal inquiry had held Gujarati responsible for leaving the syringe containing the chemical unattended beside the patient’s bed.

The nurses face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to causing death by negligence and negligent handling of hazardous substances, The Hindu reported.

The hospital has suspended them.

An unidentified senior police officer told The Indian Express that efforts were underway to locate them.

Edited by Sneha.