Delhi journalist ‘stable, conscious and talking’ after brutal attack in park

Freelance journalist Aparna Kalra, who was found lying in a pool of blood at a park in Ashok Vihar on Wednesday evening, is now stable, conscious and talking, say doctors at Fortis Hospital.

Freelance journalist Aparna Kalra, 45, who is undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a private city hospital for severe head injury, is stable, conscious and talking, said doctors on Thursday.

Locals found journalist Aparna Kalra lying unconscious in a pool of blood at an Ashok Vihar park in northwest Delhi where she had gone for a walk around 6.15 pm.

A CT-scan of the brain that was conducted on Thursday afternoon detected haematoma (blood clot) in her brain. However, her vital parameters such as blood pressure, pulse (heart rate), body temperature and breathing rate (respiratory rate) are stable.

“She is conscious, and is speaking,” said a source in the hospital.

Kalra suffered severe brain injuries after she was attacked by an unidentified person at a public park in northwest Delhi’s Ashok Vihar on Wednesday. She was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood by passersby, one of whom informed the police. Police say the motive of the attack is still unknown.

Kalra is being treated by a team under the supervision of Dr PK Sachdeva, additional director, department of neurosurgery at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

Local residents had found her lying unconscious in a pool of blood at an Ashok Vihar park on Wednesday evening, where she had gone for her evening stroll at around 6.15pm.

“She was brought in by her sister, who had earlier taken her to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, which referred her to Fortis. She had a lot of fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) collection in her brain cavities, and underwent an emergency surgery to remove it at late night,” said a doctor treating her at Fortis.

The condition, called hydrocephalus, can kill if the fluid is not removed.

“We had done a repeat CT (computed tomography) scan to determine whether the fluid collection had stopped and to review her internal injuries. There is a blood clot, but we don’t plan to operate her. We will most likely be using clot buster medicines,” said the doctor.

Kalra’s condition is being closely monitored, and though it is too early to talk about recovery, doctors are hopeful that she will pull through.