Srishti Raj Sinha, 44, a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) who was recently transferred to Saharsa from Nalanda, died at Patna’s Paras HMRI Hospital, where he was admitted with dengue, on Wednesday night.

Srishti’s relatives said he died because of multiple organ failure brought on by the mosquito-borne disease, but a Paras official refused to clarify, saying they were not supposed to discuss treatment details of any patient without the consent of the patient’s family.

Patna civil surgeon Pramod Jha said he was not aware about the case. “Provide me details of the patient. I will send my staff and get it checked whether it is related to dengue,” he said.

Srishti’s brother-in-law Prabhat Kumar Singh, a Delhi-based telecom engineer, confirmed Srishti was under treatment for dengue at Paras since Monday after a private diagnostic lab confirmed that he was suffering from dengue.

“Srishti was suffering from mild fever and headache since Saturday and he had got himself tested at a lab, which confirmed that he was suffering from dengue. He went to Paras HMRI Hopsital on Sunday to seek admission but he didn’t get one because of paucity of beds. He again approached the hospital on Monday and got admitted. He was allotted bed number 256 in a ward. By Monday evening, my brother-in-law’s condition had worsened. He was shifted to the ICU and he was on continuous oxygen support,” Prabhat said soon after completing the last rites of Srishti.

He added: “On Tuesday, his thorough investigation was done, including chest X-ray and echocardiography. Everything was normal except echo. It was detected that his heart function had reduced to only 25 per cent, and he suffered multiple organ failure. My brother-in-law didn’t have any cardiac problems earlier. He only had (high blood) sugar. He suffered cardiac problems because of dengue. At Paras, a dengue test was done and it was positive.”

Srishti, who got married in 2011, is survived by wife Archana Kumari and six-year-old son Suryansh Sinha.

City-based maxillofacial surgeon Alok Kumar, who is a family friend of the Sinhas, said he was told by the family members about the SDM’s dengue treatment at a city hospital. “Srishti’s platelet count had come down to 32,000. It is not very low but we know that dengue affects various organs and the patient has chances of multiple organ failure. In Srishti’s case, dengue damaged his organs,” he said.

“Dengue is spreading in Patna. Authorities have failed to contain its spread.”