Patna: Patient’s Kidney ‘Missing’ after Operation; Uproar Sheds Light on Racket

A pall of gloom descended on a youngster when a doctor in Patna allegedly removed his kidney in the name of operating kidney stones. Md. Mujahid (20) hailing to village Lakhra in Begusarai district of Bihar complained pain in left side beside stomach region and got admitted in a private hospital to undergo surgery. On November 18 after family members witnessed his deteriorating health condition immersed in pain.

Umar, the elder brother of the victim told NewsClick said that Mujahid had complained of pain near his stomach region, following which he was taken to BGB Hospital located in Kankarbagh, Patna. Doctors examined and found that Mujahid had stones in his right kidney. Dr. PK Jain insisted on having an open surgery instead of laproscopy. Post the surgery, after attaining consciousness, Mujahid felt unbearable pain and lastly, his left kidney was missing. Following uproar against the hospital management and locals gathering outside hospital premise, the doctor accepted he took out Mujahid’s kidney instead of kidney stones.

Md. Mujahid

Umar further added that according to the owner of the hospital, Dr PK Jain, the patient had stones in both the kidneys but they did not show up in the ultrasound test. During the operation, blood was not being blocked by a group of tubes in the right kidney. In such a situation, the kidney had to be removed to save life. “But we ridicule his statement as he himself did not inform us about Mujahid’s medical inconvenience. The foul play got unearthed after we created ruckus,” Umar said.

According to relatives of the victim, the police did not act promptly against the life-threatening actions of the medical practitioner and instead, pitched a compromise by settling the matter.

For further treatment, the patient was taken to Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) Patna.

A delegation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) visited Md Mujahid at IGIMS to enquire about health and depth of the matter. CPI (ML) state committee leader Rannvijay told NewsClick that the BGB hospital has a history of misplacing organs of patients. “The recent incident confirms the existence of the growing illegal kidney racket. The police played a negative role in the matter. It tried to subvert the case by striking a compromising deal between the victim’s family and the hospital owner, which did not happen. Instead of this gesture, they should have recorded statements of both sides and acted firmly against the wrong,” He said.

Meanwhile, Dr PK Jain and his wife Sanju Jain have gone missing since the November 18 after the issue came to light and on the other hand, police have remained inactive despite pleads of taking action against the accused, Mujahid’s relatives said.

Mujahid’s incident led to outpouring of people from nearby areas at the hospital and one of them was Shakuntala Devi (50) of Ashoknagar Road no. 14, Kankarbagh, who claimed to be another victim of BGB hospital’s alleged kidney racket.

Shakuntala Devi

While talking to NewsClick, Shakuntala Devi said that during her recent treatment for hernia, she realised that one of her kidneys was missing. “Just last year I underwent operation in the same BGB hospital, located near my residence, and while my hernia treatment, the ultrasound test pointed out to the missing kidney,” she said. When she went to the Kankarbagh Police station to lodge a complaint against her kidney being missing, the SHO ridiculed her and asked her to bring evidence to support the claim, she said.

CPI (ML)’s newly elected MLA from Phulwari assembly constituency, Gopal Ravidas, speaking on the issue said, “Instances of kidney racket erupted in the last few days reflect the rotten character of the state’s healthcare. It is an open secret and the health minister must be held accountable.” He further said he, along with others, have met the victims and assured them of raising the issue in the ongoing assembly session. “We also demand compensation for victims and police action against the medical practitioner and cancellation of his license,” he added.

In the past, Bihar has witnessed series of instances where individuals were duped by private practicing doctors resulting in loss of organs like Kidney. For example, 10 years back in Patna’s New Patliputra Colony, the Raj Chikitsalay (a private medical centre) was shut down on charges of running a kidney racket.