The vagrant lies on the hospital floor. A Telegraph picture

A man in his mid-60s, barely conscious and face smeared with blood, had been reportedly lying unattended to near the gate of the emergency ward of Medical College and Hospital for the past three days.

It was only after journalists turned up on the spot and took the picture of the vagrant on Friday morning that the hospital authorities admitted him.

The hospital authorities, however, denied that the man had been lying unattended to for three days, saying he had arrived on his own on Thursday night.

In the afternoon, the man told doctors that his name was Joydeb Dutta and that he was a resident of Gobinda Sen Lane, in Sealdah. Efforts are on to trace his family.

Policemen at the hospital outpost said the man had been lying in front of the emergency ward for the past three days. “We gave him some water and informed the hospital staff, but no one attended to him. We could not follow up as we were busy with our duty,” said a constable, who did not want to be named.

Samir Rauth, of Sodepur, whose relatives are admitted in the hospital, said he, too, had been seeing the man lying curled up near the emergency gate for the past three days. “No one came forward to help him, as he was stinking,” said Rauth.

Doctors said the victim was malnourished and had a deep wound in his left ear, in which maggots had formed. They were not sure about his chances of survival.

“It seems he is a drunkard. He also has not had a wash for a long time. There were flies all around him,” said a hospital official.

Amarendra Nath Biswas, the deputy superintendent of the hospital, said: “When I came to the hospital today, I saw the man lying in a miserable condition in front of the emergency gate. I immediately asked my staff to shift him to the emergency ward. He is under observation.”