‘HIV-infected may have been burnt alive’

In the report, NCW chairperson Poornima Advani said ‘‘a hazy line continues to linger on the crucial point whether Poonamma’s death was a natural death or otherwise’’. The commission also cited the report of Deputy Superintendent of Police Kesava Raju who had stated in his deposition: ‘‘I can’t say with authority that Poonamma was dead when she was set afire. I have not questioned the persons who carried her body from her residence to the cremation ground. I should have conducted the inquiry to ascertain whether Poonamma was dead or alive at the time of cremation. I am satisfied with the inquiry of officers although it is not clear whether she was alive when she was cremated’’.

According to Advani, no independent corroborative evidence was available to prove whether she died at her residence after being bundled in a mat during transport or on reaching the funeral place or on the pier. She castigated the state administration for its failure in spreading the AIDS awareness programme. Insensitivity and inaccurate counselling for women living with AIDS/HIV, unwarranted delay in revealing HIV test results, lack of availability of medicine for opportunistic infections are some of the reasons enlisted by NCW for the failure of the state in implementing the AIDS awareness programme.

Advani stated that though Andhra Pradesh gets Rs 20 crore for its AIDS awareness programme, it has failed to perform.

Highlighting the pathetic condition of Poonamma, the report said her family had been isolated by the neighbourhood and that her son was pressured by his own family that the ‘‘stinking’’, ‘‘bleeding’’, and ‘‘wretched woman’’ was a burden not only financially but also socially. Poonamma was kept in a small make-shift tent outside the house.

The stench pervading the atmosphere from the discharges from Poonamma besides the intermittent drying and wetting of the discharges added to the problem and forced the neighbours to abandon their houses and move to farther places. ‘‘The social isolation of Poonamma was complete. She lay there unattended, uncared for…almost in criminal neglect and all, including the mother and son, waiting for her to breathe the last,’’ the report states.

The NCW has called a meeting of Andhra Pradesh MPs, NACO and NGOs in order to evolve a strategy to deal effectively with the dreaded virus. Meanwhile, the NHRC has written to the Chitoor District Collector, asking him to submit a report in four weeks on Poonamma’s death.