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Pharmaceutical companies that supplied medicines and surgical instruments used in the sterilisation camp in Bilaspur have come under the scanner of investigators after 11 women died and 61 more were hospitalised, following post-surgical complications.
The camp had been organised by the government at Nemichand Jain Cancer and Research Centre at Pendari village — about 130 km from Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur — on Saturday.
One of the experts probing the case observed that prima facie, it did not appear that something went wrong on the operation table.
It was only after their discharge and a day after that the patients reported complications.
Since almost all the patients were affected, there seems to be a common cause for the complication. That could be the medicines that were administered after surgery, added the expert.
“The medicines supplied for the camp has been one of the most important points of investigation,” said state health minister Amar Agrawal.
The probe officials would consider all aspects of the investigation, including the alleged sub-standard medicines supplied, he said.
The Bilaspur police had also seized the list of medicines that were supplied for the sterilisation camp. A senior police officer said the medicines would be the focus of the investigation and the companies that manufactured the drugs would be quizzed.
The police had lodged an FIR against R K Gupta, the doctor who supervised the camp.
Another similar case was reported from Pendra on Wednesday. Following a sterilisation surgery, women complained of complications. One woman died while 11 had been admitted to a hospital.
A seven-member team from AIIMS, New Delhi reached Bilaspur on Wednesday. Agrawal said the doctors from would help in finding out the cause that led to the incident besides supervising the treatment given to the admitted patients for their early recovery.
