Kashmiri girl blinded by pellets operated upon in Mumbai

Dr S Natrajan, who performed the three-hour long surgery at Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital in Wadala, said the teenager had a meningitis infection due to the injury to the skull

Insha Ahmed, a 14-year-old Kashmiri girl who lost vision after she was hit by pellets, underwent an eye surgery in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Dr S Natrajan, who performed the three-hour long surgery at Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital in Wadala, said the teenager had a meningitis infection due to the injury to the skull. Insha was operated on her left eye and will undergo another surgery on the right eye .The surgery was performed under general anesthesia . “The pellets have pierced her eyes and are lodged in her skull, completely damaging the eyeballs. After discussing the case with international trauma experts, we decided that the surgery has to be done to treat the injury. But, there are very less chances that she will regain her vision,” said Dr Natrajan.

Insha’s father, Mushtaq Ahmed, said she was hit with nearly 300 pellets on July 10 when she opened the window of her house in her village in South Kashmir. “She was taken to Sri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital and shifted to AIIMS Delhi to treat the infection of the pellet injuries on her face and skull. The doctors then referred us to Mumbai for the eye surgery,” said Mushtaq. “We don’t know the situation back home. We have been out for two months for my daughter’s treatment.”

After spending 45 days in AIIMS Delhi, her case details were sent to Dr Natrajan who has performed over 84 surgeries on patients suffering from pellet injuries during his two trips to Srinagar since the protest. Insha, who has lost 100% of her eyesight due to the incident, was brought to Mumbai.

Mushtaq, a farmer from Shopian district, said they have spent over Rs3 lakh for her treatment . “I have a younger son back home,” he said, adding that many of his relatives and acquaintances have fallen to pellet injuries since the protest.

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