Leaves victim in critical condition.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW DELHI: An ophthalmologist in Jharkhand’s Koderma district left a young woman struggling for her life after he attempted surgery to remove a tumor that he was not qualified to perform.
The family of 29-year-old Chandni Parveen claim Ram Prakash Sharma, an eye-doctor with the state health department, incised her stomach at a private nursing home in Jhumri-Tilaya town before saying he was confused and stitching the wound up prior to completing the operation.
After leaving Parveen in considerable pain, the doctor allegedly attempted to bribe her family, telling them he would cover the medical expenses if they kept quiet about the incident. They took her to a nearby hospital instead, where the tumor was successfully removed.
Parveen’s father told The Hindustan Times that they were tricked by intermediaries who falsely presented the physician as a surgeon. Earlier in the week, Sharma even removed a family-member’s inflamed appendix for 12,000 rupees, or about $193.
Police say Sharma has a long and storied history of botching surgeries, but not action has been taken because until now, no victim has filed an official complaint.
“Sharma has been missing from duty since mid-January. I have informed the health department about his absenteeism,” said Garhwa civil surgeon RJP Singh.
The health department will also initiate a probe against Sharma and the nursing home, the Times report said.
“An FIR will be filed against Sharma and the nursing home if needed,” disclosed health services director-in-chief Sumant Mishra to the Times.
Meanwhile, Sharma has vehemently denied the accusations.
“I am a qualified doctor and have a specialization in surgery from the Kanpur medical college,” Sharma vented to Indian journalists. “There are some who want to defame me.”