Says Shefali: "Everyone except for my mother-in-law turned against me, insisting that I go back to my father's home in Panrui. The pressure on me increased when my mother-in-law was sent to Kolkata for treatment. I finally went away and spent two nights at Bolpur station. On Friday, I decided to end my life."

One of her brothers-in-law, a businessman, refutes the claim that she had been forced out of their home in Santiniketan's Shyambati. "We did not compel her to leave. We live with small children and didn't want to take any risks. So we suggested that she stay with her parents at Panrui. You cannot blame us. We even promised to provide for her", he states.

Shefali's son works in a Kolkata-based private firm and is not in touch with his mother regularly. S K Bhowmik, Birbhum chief medical officer of health was quoted: "There is no infrastructure at the Bolpur hospital to house such a patient. She had disclosed her HIV+ status as soon as she was brought in. A blood test confirmed this. In spite of that, doctors went ahead with the operation and treated her. So it shouldn't be said that she was shifted elsewhere as soon as doctors found that she was HIV+. In fact, all local HIV+ patients should be registered at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital." However, he admitted that the precautionary measures necessary to operate on an HIV+ patient were not taken at Bolpur.

At Bolpur hospital, patients who spent two days with Shefali in the ward, sounded quite worried. A doctor was reported: "We have asked higher authorities for better equipment to re-arrange the operation theatre. Then, we will be better prepared to tackle such cases in the future."

Source: Medindia
ANN/C