A Chhattisgarh doctor has been sentenced to two years imprisonment in connection with the death of 12 women in 2014 after botched mass-sterilisation surgeries at a government-run camp in Bilaspur district.
RK Gupta, a block medical officer, was convicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder by the First District and Additional Sessions Judge Shailesh Kumar Ketarap on Tuesday and handed out a two-year sentence, additional public prosecutor Devendra Rao Somawar said on Wednesday.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 each on the doctor for the 12 deaths.
The case relates to a sterilisation camp held on November 8, 2014, at a hospital in Pendari near Sakri village in Takhatpur block of Bilaspur district. A total of 83 women from nearby rural areas had undergone sterilisation procedures at the camp and were sent home the same evening. But more than 50 of them fell seriously ill later and 12 died, triggering national outrage.
According to the prosecution Dr Gupta was accused have conducted tubectomies on over 80 women in six hours with two assistants in an abandoned private hospital.
{{/usCountry}}According to the prosecution Dr Gupta was accused have conducted tubectomies on over 80 women in six hours with two assistants in an abandoned private hospital.
{{/usCountry}}A retired judge who investigated the case attributed the deaths to gross medical negligence, administration of substandard and poisonous drugs, and violation of standard guidelines.
The prosecution said the deaths were linked to alleged negligence during surgeries leading to septicaemia, along with concerns over contaminated post-operative medication.
To be sure, the Bilaspur court has acquitted five individuals associated with two drug supply firms — Ramesh and Sumit Mahavar of Mahavar Pharma, and Rakesh, Rajesh and Manish Khare of Kavita Pharmaceuticals, citing lack of evidence against the representatives of the pharmaceutical firms due to lack of evidence.