Bihar: 18 Months After her Kidneys Were Removed, Dalit Woman Still Waiting for Transplant Despite Govt Assurances

Patna: It took more than one and half years (18 months) for Bihar police to initiate the process to attach the property of the absconding main accused, Dr RK Singh, who allegedly removed both kidneys of Sunita Devi, a dalit woman, who has been battling for life. 

Sunita Devi's kidneys were removed at a private nursing home in Muzaffarpur district in September 2022 by Singh, who has been absconding after that, and police failed to arrest him to date.

Muzaffarpur ASP (East) Sahariar Akhtar told NewsClick on Monday that police will attach the property of the absconding Singh soon. 

"Police have got a court order for property attachment of Singh, the absconding main accused in the kidney removal of Sunita Devi. We are working on it, and Singh's house will be attached as soon as possible."

According to police officials, as Singh is the residence of Patepur in neighbouring Vaishali district, as per the official rules, district authorities of Muzaffarpur have informed the Vaishali District Magistrate and requested him to appoint a magistrate for his property attachment.

"After a Magistrate is deployed, police will attach Singh's property."

Earlier, police arrested self-claimed medical practitioner Dr Pawan Kumar, owner of Subhakant Clinic, a private nursing home in Sakra block in Muzaffarpur, where Sunita Devi's healthy kidneys were removed. Kumar has been in jail since November 2022.

But Singh, who allegedly operated on Sunita Devi and removed her kidneys at a clinic that was neither registered nor had a licence to conduct surgery, is still absconding, but police have yet to arrest him.

Ironically, the health condition of Sunita Devi, in her mid-30s, has worsened since her kidneys were removed, and she needs a kidney transplant. Health authorities of Bihar failed to arrange a donor for Sunita Devi, whose condition is deteriorating day by day. Similarly, police have failed to arrest the absconding accused in the last 18 months.

Sunita Devi's mother, Tetri Devi, told NewsClick that a kidney transplant for her daughter was not a big thing for state health authorities, but she has been neglected and left to struggle till her last breath in the hope of a kidney transplant.

"We are poor and unable to arrange money for a donor; Sunita Devi has become a victim of the alleged negligence of health officials, reiterating their old reply of trying to arrange a donor for one and a half years. If the government was serious, it could have arranged a donor long ago. It appears the government has no concern for the life of poor people like Sunita Devi," she said.

Last year, Sunita Devi's family members blamed the "non-seriousness" of officials of the health department for the delay in kidney transplant. They said no serious effort was made so far by the health authorities for a kidney transplant to save her life. If the department is serious, 18 months is a long time to arrange a donor.

Tetri Devi recalled that last month, Sunita Devi's health condition deteriorated, and she was admitted to the ICU ward of government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur for treatment.

"Most of the time, we rush her to SKMCH as she is fighting for survival without kidneys. How long will she survive in this way? We want to save her."

Based on the statement of Tetri Devi, a police complaint was lodged at the local police station soon after Sunita Devi's kidneys were removed. In her FIR, she named Dr Pawan Kumar, his wife Sangeeta Devi, Dr RK Singh, OT assistant Jitendra Kumar Paswan, wife of Kumar and two others as accused in the case. The FIR was lodged under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

After Sunita Devi's kidney removal hit headlines, the National Human Rights Commission and Bihar State Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the state government in connection with her case.

After Sunita Devi's kidneys were allegedly removed and stolen at a private nursing home in the name of a uterus removal operation in early September 2022, the top brass of the health department assured her of proper treatment, including a kidney transplant. But she has been restlessly awaiting it for nearly one and a half years.

An initial probe by the police in Muzaffarpur revealed no operation theatre in the private clinic, which also lacked basic facilities. It was alleged that the Subhakant Clinic in rural Muzaffarpur had been conducting surgeries without official approval from the government agency, which was a violation of fundamental medical ethics.

According to the police, the clinic did not have a registration number, nor were the degrees of its doctors displayed on a board. Locals alleged that the clinic was run by self-proclaimed doctors.

Sunita Devi's family recalled that she was rushed to Subhakant Clinic in early September following stomach pain. After examining her and conducting an ultrasound, the doctors asked the family to deposit money immediately and admit her for a uterus removal operation. But hours after the operation, her health deteriorated, her body swelled, and she complained of uneasiness and extreme weakness. Sensing trouble, a doctor at the clinic advised her family to take her to Patna for better treatment.

However, the family was shocked when doctors of the government-run Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) informed them that both her kidneys had been removed.

Later, Sunita Devi was admitted to SKMCH in Muzaffarpur, where doctors again conducted tests and confirmed that both her kidneys were removed; after that, she was shifted to Patna-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences and was soon sent back to SKMCH.