SC permits aborting 24-week foetus with brain damage
The Maharashtra government on Friday admitted that an investigation into the death of Byculla jail inmate Manjula Shetye revealed her death was a result of an assault and not an accidental fall as claimed by the jail authorities.
“There were 17 injury marks on her body and there is no doubt that her death was caused by staff assault. As per eye witnesses’ accounts, she was taken to the office of jail authorities after which doors and windows were closed. We have got the CCTV footage,” Patil said.
The revelation came after the Bombay high court pulled up the crime branch police for shoddy probe a few days ago.
Patil also declared suspension of Dr Vishwas Roke of JJ Hospital, who issued the death information certificate claiming it was a result of a fall.
“The post-mortem report revealed Shetye died after being beaten up,” said Patil in the lower house, adding no one will be spared by the government.
The issue was raised in the lower house through a callingattention motion by NCP legislators Jayant Patil, Ajit Pawar and others.
Shetye died at the JJ Hospital on June 23 after being allegedly beaten up by Byculla jail officials and staff over a dispute on two eggs and five loaves of bread inside the jail.
A 20-member women Parliamentary Empowerment of Women Committee visited Byculla jail on July 24 to interact with inmates and enquired about Shetye’s death, which had led to an uproar.
The husband works as a chauffeur and the woman is a homemaker. The woman said she didn’t want the baby after she learnt about its condition.
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a 21-year-old woman from Chembur to abort her 24-week abnormal foetus.
The doctors diagnosed the foetus with aqueductal stenosis and hydrocephalus — brain abnormalities that cause mental retardation — in the 21st week.
In India, the law does not permit abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The apex court on July 24 directed the state-run Sir JJ Hospital, Byculla, to form a committee to evaluate the case. The Supreme Court took the decision based on the report submitted by the hospital.
Dr Nikhil Datar, a Goregaonbased gynaecologist who evaluated the case, helped the woman’s husband file the petition. “They are from a poor family. The husband works as a chauffeur and the woman is a homemaker. The woman said she did not want the baby after she learnt about its condition,” he said.
Dr Datar said although there are treatment options for the baby’s condition after delivery, it will not repair the damage that is already done.
“In this case, the cerebrospinal fluid (found in the brain and spinal cord) accumulates in the brain and puts pressure on the brain tissue,” he said. He said the prognosis varies from case to case, depending on the damage to the tissue in the womb.
The woman got an ultrasound done at a municipal hospital, which is often overburdened with patients.
Doctors in the city have been pushing for a revision in the abortion deadline, explaining that some abnormalities in the foetus are observed only after the legal deadline for abortion.
An aggrieved resident of Assam’s Guwahati has lodged a police complaint against her neighbour for allegedly killing her egg-laying duck and also demanded a death penalty for the man.
Renu Rabha, a resident of Kanchan Nagar, alleged Kusumbar Baruah clubbed the duck to death with a stick after it entered their compound on Thursday and passed excreta.
Both families had a fight over the issue following which Rabha decided to approach the Noonmati police station with the dead duck and filed an FIR against Baruah seeking justice.
An inconsolable Rabha told police officials Baruah should be given death penalty for killing the bird, which had started laying eggs since a few days.
“We have registered a case based on the complaint and are investigating. Among other charges, we have added section 429 of Indian Penal Code, which deals with killing of animals,” Rajib Saikia, in-charge of Noonmati police station, told HT.
The dead animal has been sent to the government veterinary college for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death. But Rabha’s wish for capital punishment won’t get fulfilled as section 429 of IPC provides for a maximum jail term of five years or a fine or both.
AN INCONSOLABLE RABHA TOLD POLICE THE MAN SHOULD BE GIVEN DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING THE BIRD, WHICH STARTED LAYING EGGS A FEW DAYS BACK