Little Anushila Bose would have been alive today, had the doctors treating her been a little more pro-active and the clinic she was admitted to better equipped.

A post-mortem on the skeletal remains of the body ? exhumed on January 9, more than three months after her death ? has revealed traces of blood in the lower jaw, gums and the skull, suggesting that the five-year-old had been suffering from Dengue Shock Syndrome.

Forensic experts said the doctors could have handled the situation better by advising the girl?s parents to shift her from the Shyambazar nursing home, which was not equipped to monitor dengue shock that calls for a regular tab on the functioning of various organs.

?We have conducted the post-mortem and recorded the findings. But I cannot reveal anything about it,? said A.K. Gupta, head of the department of forensic science at Medical College and Hospital.

An insider, however, said: ?We spotted some blackish-brown stains. A Benzidine test proved they were of blood. We faced some problems, as the test had to be carried out on the skeletal remains.?

?The report will be sent to a medico-legal expert, whose opinion will be crucial,? said Gyanwant Singh, deputy commissioner (I), detective department.

Anushila, the only child of her parents, died at the clinic on September 29 last year, after suffering from fever for four days. On November 13, father Saibal had lodged an FIR with Shyampukur police station, alleging that the death had been caused by the negligence of five doctors, including two at the nursing home.

A court hearing the case ordered a forensic test on the child?s body to verify the charges. The body, or whatever remained of it, was exhumed from Muraripukur Burial Ground on January 9.

For Saibal, the findings are a vindication of his charges.

He had claimed that even the abrupt fall in Anushila?s platelet count ? 1.55 lakh per cubic ml of blood on September 28 to 32,000 the next day ? had failed to ring an alarm bell for the doctors.

?Why didn?t the doctors tell me to shift her to a better clinic? Why did the doctors take so long ? 18 hours ? to move her to the ICU? She had complained of an abdominal pain, but there was no way to ascertain whether her kidneys were functioning properly,? said Saibal.