Court concludes hearing on parents' plea in Junagadh HIV case

The special court for CBI cases here today concluded the hearing on 'protest plea' filed by parents of 34 thalassemic children who contracted HIV allegedly after they were given contaminated blood during transfusion.
The parents have objected to CBI's closure report in the case giving clean chit to BJP's Junagadh MLA Mahendra Mashru whose blood bank was accused of supplying contaminated blood.
Special judge N J Nayee would pronounce the order on October 10.
On August 1 last year, CBI filed a closure report which said it had not found any substantial evidence. Following which the parents's lawyer, advocate Paresh Vaghela, filed the protest petition.

Thalassemia is a disease in which the body doesn't make enough red blood cells and therefore the person has to be given blood transfusion regularly. In 2011, 34 thalassmic children were allegedly given HIV-infected blood at Junagadh Government Hospital; since then, eight of them have died of AIDS.
After a PIL was filed in the Gujarat High Court, the case was transferred to CBI in 2013.