Bilaspur incident: Spurious medicines caused deaths, says suspended Medical Officer

Takhatpur Block Medical Officer Dr. Pramod Tiwari, who is one of the four officers suspended in the aftermath of the Bilaspur tragedy, on Thursday blamed spurious medicines supplied to them as the root cause of the incident. "The problem was with the medicines that were supplied to us, although I have not tested the medicines but the situation indicates that the medicines were faulty," Tiwari told ANI.

Tiwari further stated that doctors are not responsible for the tragedy, adding that only patients who were given medicines from a particular batch have suffered. "We are not at all responsible for this. If the deaths had occurred due to the operations, then I would have accepted even the death sentence. The problems have occurred only among those who had been given medicines from a particular batch. The people who were given medicines from a different batch are fine," he said.

Tiwari also called for a fair and thorough investigation to nab those who supplied spurious medicines. "The matter should be investigated fairly. The medicine suppliers who have supplied these medicines should be nabbed rather than arresting and jailing surgeons to pacify people," he said.

The death toll in the sterilization tragedy has risen to 13, with more than 50 women, who were left in a critical state, undergoing treatment at four different hospitals in the region. A team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is in Bilaspur to attend to critical patients.