Officials have taken action against six nurses at an India hospital where a woman's eyelid was eaten by ants before her death last week.

Action has been initiated against six nurses of Sambhu Nath Pandit Hospital indicted by the two-member enquiry committee on the late Gouri Rani Chakraborty?s eyelid being nibbled by ants before her death last week.

Departmental proceedings began against them after the committee comprising director of health services Dr Prabhakar Chattopadhyay and director of medical education Dr Jayashree Mitra submitted its report to the state health minister, Dr Surjya Kanta Misra, today.

The health minister later said that charges of negligence against six nurses on duty on the night of November 13 and the morning of November 14 have been established. These nurses have been showcaused. After going through their versions, departmental action would be initiated.

"We have received the report of the probe conducted by the two-member committee. We have also received the autopsy report. According to the report, there was a wound on one eyelid of the patient. This was caused by ants. The nurses were supposed to take special care of a coma patient. These nurses can?t shrug off their responsibility in this regard," Dr Misra said.

He went on saying that the patient died of diabetic coma. And as the patient was in a coma, she was supposed to get special attention that the nurses failed to provide. And that?s why it can be said that negligence charge was established against the nurses.

Relatives of Gouri Rani Chakraborty said if the state government could take such quick action whenever a complaint of medical negligence came up, people would be faithful to the health department of the state. "As the state government is going to take some action against the nurses who neglected my mother-in-law, those who are responsible to cater to proper services in the health sector, would be careful from now on," said Mr Amitava Kar, son-in-law of the victim.

The hospital super, Dr Sukumar Das, said: "We never said that there was no negligence on behalf of our staff. What we protested against was the attack against the doctors and nurses by entering the hospital ward."