HIGHLIGHTS
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Doctors at SSKM hospital managed to extract seven needles from the body of a three-year-old girl who was allegedly made a voodoo doll by a man practising black magic.
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The operation lasted for more than two hours.
M4P|KOLKATA:
In an operation that lasted more than two hours, doctors at SSKM hospital managed to extract seven needles from the body of a three-year-old girl who was allegedly made a voodoo doll by a man practising black magic. The child is recuperating at the ICU and will be under observation for 48 hours.
The girl suffering from severe trauma due to alleged sexual abuse and torture by her mother’s employer was brought from Purulia to SSKM in a critical condition on Saturday. The girl had initially been taken to Bankura Medical College & Hospital by her mother for treatment of cold and cough. But doctors there informed the police after seeing her injuries. She was then rushed to SSKM.
The doctors were shocked when they found seven needles inside her body during the operation on Tuesday. They had been forced into her body in a manner that they had pierced her organs. The girl was so traumatised that the medical board formed to carry out the treatment decided to delay the surgery till she became stable.
“Before surgery, we knew about presence of two needles in one of her lungs. But during the operation, we found another one in the same lung using C-Arm, a device like the X-Ray machine. In all, seven needles were removed. Luckily, the needles didn’t cause any major internal injury,” said Sukanta Roy, gastroenterology surgeon who was part of the surgery team. Doctors suspect a technique similar to acupuncture was used to insert the needles in her body over a period of time. Apart from Roy, three paediatric surgeons, a gynaecologist and an anaesthetist were in the surgery team.
“The girl is doing fine after the successful surgery. But she needs to be kept under observation,” said Ajay Roy, director of Institute of Post Graduate Medical education & Research .
Police are on the lookout for Sanatan Thakur, who allegedly tortured the child. Her mother worked in his house. A former home guard, Thakur has been booked under the POCSO Act. Police suspect the accused practised black magic.