Chhattisgarh sterilisation tragedy: Chief medical doctor arrested

Indian women who underwent sterilisation surgeries receive treatment at the CIMS hospital in Bilaspur, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. Eight Indian women have died and more than a dozen others in critical condition Tuesday after undergoing sterilization surgeries in a free government-run program to help slow the country’s population growth. A total of 83 women, all poor villagers under the age of 32, had the operations Saturday in a hospital outside Bilaspur city. Each of the women had received a payment of 600 rupees, or about $10, to participate in the program, said the state’s chief medical officer, Dr. S.K. Mandal. (Source: AP)

Dr RK Gupta, who conducted 83 laparoscopic surgeries in just five hours in Bilaspur on Saturday, has been arrested. He was arrested late on Wednesday night from Baloda Bazar. Gupta, who was awarded by the Raman Singh government on January 26 this year for conducting a record number of female sterilizations, has already been suspended and is facing a FIR.

Meanwhile, a team of specialist doctors is reaching Raipur from Hyderabad. They will assist in the treatment of women. Fourteen women have died so far following tubectomies in two separate government camps within two days in Bilaspur.

Bilaspur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh meets a woman who underwent sterilization surgeries receive treatment at the CIMS hospital in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. (Source: PTI)

One of them is a Baiga, a primate tribe protected by law. The government has banned the sterilization of these tribes. Alleging that these deaths amounted to“murders by the government,” PCC Chief Bhupesh Baghel has demanded the immediate resignation of Raman Singh.

President of All India Mahila Congress Shobha Ojha has arrived in Chhattisgarh today and reached Bilaspur.