Nazir Abdul Ahmed Rehman had been a prisoner of his 100-sq ft flat for five years. At 190 kg, he could simply not walk. Also, he is so huge that it was feared he could not be brought down on a stretcher through the staircase of the building. But on Sunday morning, he got a taste of freedom, thanks to a DNA report that appeared on Saturday.
Rehman, 53, needed weight-loss surgery, but at Rs3.5 lakh, it was way beyond his means. After DNA carried his story, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi came forward to foot the bill.
On Sunday morning, the fire brigade reached Rehman’s building and six fire fighters brought him down on a stretcher. He was admitted to the Breach Candy hospital.
“Since it was difficult for medical staff to bring Rehman out of the building, we requested the fire brigade to come to his rescue,” said Dr Sanjay Borude, bariatric surgeon, Breach Candy.
Rehman’s wife Haina said: “After the report came out in DNA, we got several calls from relatives and friends. Everybody wanted to give us money for the surgery. But by then Azmi had already contacted us. I never thought my husband could undergo the surgery because of its cost.”
For the fire brigade, bringing Rehman out was an unusual experience. “This was different. We needed to bring him down with great care,” said DV Sawant, station officer, Memonwada fire station. “It was difficult work. The lane outside the building is very narrow. It took us 30 minutes to complete the task.”
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