Maverick
06-11-2004, 01:32 PM
She hoped to live the doctor dream
Express News Service
New Delhi, June 7: THE white coat and stethoscope were her passion and Rinki Kumari was studying hard to wear them one day. Father Ram Pujan Singh realises the irony — that his daughter who wanted to be a doctor died on a quack’s ‘operation table’.
‘‘Rinki would speak so passionately about being a doctor that I was convinced to pay Rs 900 for her private tuitions a month,’’ said Singh, a Class IV employee of Bharat Petroleum.
On Saturday, the 16-year-old prepared dinner for the family of five before stepping out for what ‘‘doctor’’ Brij Bihari Prasad had described as a two-minute surgery to cure her stammering. Serving tea to her mother and aunt, Rinki had said she would be back by the time dinner was laid.
‘‘Kuch nahin kaha mujhko, bas itna ki mein aa rahi hoon (She just said she would be back soon),’’ said Mayadevi, Rinki’s mother.
Singh regrets agreeing for the operation in the Mahaveer Enclave clinic. ‘‘She wouldn’t stammer so much, but just like all parents we wanted Rinki to be perfect,’’ he said. On May 30, Rinki had visited Prasad with her father after a stomachache. It was there that Prasad suggested surgery for the stammering. He asked for Rinki’s blood and urine examination.
‘‘When we went back on June 5, Prasad gave Rinki three injections and asked me to wait outside the room. I couldn’t see what was happening inside but the operation took some 15 minutes,’’ said Singh. ‘‘Later, I panicked when Rinki did not regain consciousness. But Prasad kept saying all was well.’’
With Rinki not recovering, Prasad accompanied Singh and Rinki to DDU Hospital. ‘‘The DDU doctors said Prasad’s dosage was high,’’ said Singh.
Singh, however, would still give Prasad the benefit of doubt. ‘‘We have been visiting him for about a year for common ailments such as cough and cold. His medicines worked,’’ said Singh. Asked if Prasad’s medical credentials had been checked, he said: ‘‘I trusted the two boards describing him as an MBBS doctor.’’
Prasad used to charge Rs 35 for a visit. ‘‘Had I known he was a quack, I would have taken Rinki to a good doctor,’’ said Singh.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=86885
Express News Service
New Delhi, June 7: THE white coat and stethoscope were her passion and Rinki Kumari was studying hard to wear them one day. Father Ram Pujan Singh realises the irony — that his daughter who wanted to be a doctor died on a quack’s ‘operation table’.
‘‘Rinki would speak so passionately about being a doctor that I was convinced to pay Rs 900 for her private tuitions a month,’’ said Singh, a Class IV employee of Bharat Petroleum.
On Saturday, the 16-year-old prepared dinner for the family of five before stepping out for what ‘‘doctor’’ Brij Bihari Prasad had described as a two-minute surgery to cure her stammering. Serving tea to her mother and aunt, Rinki had said she would be back by the time dinner was laid.
‘‘Kuch nahin kaha mujhko, bas itna ki mein aa rahi hoon (She just said she would be back soon),’’ said Mayadevi, Rinki’s mother.
Singh regrets agreeing for the operation in the Mahaveer Enclave clinic. ‘‘She wouldn’t stammer so much, but just like all parents we wanted Rinki to be perfect,’’ he said. On May 30, Rinki had visited Prasad with her father after a stomachache. It was there that Prasad suggested surgery for the stammering. He asked for Rinki’s blood and urine examination.
‘‘When we went back on June 5, Prasad gave Rinki three injections and asked me to wait outside the room. I couldn’t see what was happening inside but the operation took some 15 minutes,’’ said Singh. ‘‘Later, I panicked when Rinki did not regain consciousness. But Prasad kept saying all was well.’’
With Rinki not recovering, Prasad accompanied Singh and Rinki to DDU Hospital. ‘‘The DDU doctors said Prasad’s dosage was high,’’ said Singh.
Singh, however, would still give Prasad the benefit of doubt. ‘‘We have been visiting him for about a year for common ailments such as cough and cold. His medicines worked,’’ said Singh. Asked if Prasad’s medical credentials had been checked, he said: ‘‘I trusted the two boards describing him as an MBBS doctor.’’
Prasad used to charge Rs 35 for a visit. ‘‘Had I known he was a quack, I would have taken Rinki to a good doctor,’’ said Singh.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=86885