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New Delhi: A 38-year-old woman lost her life in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district after two unqualified people allegedly attempted "stone surgery" inside an illegal clinic reportedly guided by instructional videos on YouTube.
Munishra Rawat, a resident of Saidanpur village in the Kotwali Kothi area, had been suffering from acute abdominal pain. On December 5th, her husband, Fateh Bahadur Rawat, sought help at "Shri Damodar Aushadhalay," a clinic that had been run for years by former village head Gyan Prakash Mishra.
According to Fateh Bahadur, medical ethics were entirely disregarded from the outset. "He didn’t conduct any tests. He just touched her stomach and said it was a stone that needed to be removed immediately. He said delaying it could make it fatal," Fateh Bahadur, as quoted as saying by News18..
Mishra then demanded Rs 25,000 for the procedure. The Rawats could only arrange Rs 20,000, which Mishra allegedly accepted, assuring them it was sufficient. "We trusted him because he was a former pradhan," Fateh Bahadur explained, highlighting the influence and false sense of security provided by Mishra's past public office.
Local sources and police officials have confirmed that neither Gyan Prakash Mishra nor his nephew, Vivek Mishra, who assisted him, possessed any formal medical training. Their alleged preparation for the invasive procedure involved watching surgical videos online.
The crude "operation" that ensued was a fatal disaster. The duo reportedly made a deep incision in Munishra’s abdomen, severing vital nerves and blood vessels. A villager who witnessed the aftermath grimly observed, “They had no idea where to cut or how to handle bleeding. It was clear they were improvising."
Munishra's condition rapidly deteriorated following the botched surgery. Despite the quacks' attempts to "manage" the worsening situation, she succumbed to her injuries the following evening, around 6 pm on December 6th.
Her tragic death ignited widespread fury among the villagers. By 11 pm that night, family members and locals resorted to direct action, placing Munishra’s body on the road and blocking traffic, demanding immediate and stringent action against the accused. "A woman died because two men played doctor after watching YouTube. How long will such clinics be allowed to function?" a protesting villager demanded, reflecting the community's outrage.
Police swiftly arrived at the scene and, after several hours of persuasion and assurances of strict action, managed to calm the agitated crowd. The blockade was eventually lifted, and Munishra’s body was sent for post-mortem examination. Her last rites were performed on December 7th, after the completion of the report.
Fateh Bahadur further alleged that the clinic owner, Gyan Prakash Mishra, had attempted to stifle the matter. "He offered us money to close the case," Fateh Bahadur stated, adding, "But how can we settle after losing my wife? We wanted an FIR." Villagers echoed these claims, asserting that Mishra had long leveraged his influence as a former pradhan and mahant to operate his illegal clinic with impunity.
Acting on the husband's complaint, the police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Gyan Prakash Mishra and his nephew Vivek Mishra. Inspector Amit Singh Bhadoriya of Kotwali Kothi confirmed the development, stating, "An FIR has been registered under relevant sections. Both accused are absconding, and teams have been deployed to track them down."
In the wake of the tragedy, the health department also initiated action. On Tuesday, Dr Sanjeev Kumar, Medical Superintendent of the Kothi Community Health Centre, formally pasted a notice on the clinic, officially declaring it illegal and shutting down its operations.
