Gangtok, May 9 -- Three lives are gone. A mother. Two unborn children who never drew their first breath. And behind that loss stands a husband and father, Swarup Chettri, who had spent fifteen years hoping for exactly this pregnancy - and who must now bury not one grief but three.

The death of Sweta Karki, following the loss of her unborn twins at Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial (STNM) Hospital in Gangtok and her subsequent passing at Neotia Hospital in Siliguri, has shaken Sikkim in a way that goes beyond the immediate tragedy of one family. It has forced the state to confront an uncomfortable question it has been reluctant to answer squarely: how safe is the healthcare that its citizens depend upon?

We must be careful here. The allegation...