India keeps close watch on Irish response
Syed Akbaruddin, the ministry’s spokesman, said the Asian nation’s leaders are closely following the matter after being made aware of the tragedy.
While the Department of Foreign Affairs said it had yet to receive any formal contact from India over the incident, Mr Akbaruddin said India’s Dublin embassy was looking into the case.
“Deeply regret tragic death of Ms Halappanavar. India’s Embassy in Dublin following matter. Await results of enquiries initiated by Ireland,” he wrote on Twitter.
Speaking to Indian news agency PTI, he said the matter was of “concern”.
“We understand the Irish authorities have initiated two inquiries.
“We are awaiting the results and we will take it from there.”
The Indian government’s involvement has added an extra layer of controversy to a scandal which has gained notoriety across the world.
It came as Savita’s parents and husband hit out at Ireland’s abortion laws, claiming the rules effectively killed the young woman.
Grieving widower Praveen Halappanavar said “the whole of the Indian community is together” and would react if there were “inadequate actions” taken in investigating the scandal.
Speaking on Indian state television, Savita’s parents, Mr Andanappa Yalagi and Mrs A Mahadevi, said laws needed to change.
“In an attempt to save a four-month-old foetus they killed my 31-year-old daughter. How is that fair you tell me?” said Mrs Mahadevi.
“How many more cases will there be? The rules should be changed as per the requirement of Hindus. We are Hindus, not Christians.”
Savita’s father, Mr Andanappa Yalagi, said the combination of what he claimed was medical negligence and Ireland’s abortion laws led to his daughter’s death.
Savita’s husband, Praveen, has previously alleged that doctors at Galway University Hospital refused to conduct a medical termination on his wife, who was miscarrying at 17 weeks.
He said he was told this was because Ireland “is a Catholic country”.
The claim, which is set to play a key role in two separate investigations into what happened, occurred during Savita’s three-day miscarriage.
Praveen has claimed doctors refused their requests for a termination to combat her pain and fading health.
It was only after the foetus’s heartbeat stopped that it was removed.
Within hours, Savita was placed under sedation in intensive care with blood poisoning, her husband said.
Over subsequent days her heart, kidneys, and liver stopped working.
She died of septicaemia on Sunday, Oct 28 — a week after entering the hospital.
The Galway City-based Boston Scientific worker said he and Savita had planned to name their child Prava — a mixture of their names — and that his wife had already been thinking of a second child.
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