According to the officials and an official memo of the health department in Unnao, the top officials in the department knew about the moron using a common syringe to treat everyone. The officials got to know about this issue around July 2017 but did not take any action. The officials ignoring the situation led to at least 21 people get infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV.)
Information from an Internal Department Communication states the then Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of Unnao district hospital Uma Shankar Dixit, wrote to the then Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the district Rajendra Prasad after 12 people from Premgunj in Bangarmau were tested HIV positive. It is said they were screened at the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) at the Unnao district hospital. The CMS sent the letter to the CMO on the 21st of July 2017.
Dixit in the letter said, “The patients had informed health officials that they developed the condition after being injected by the quack, who used a single syringe to inject all his patients.” The letter further stated the patients said they met the quack at Station Road in Bangarmau.
The current CMO Dr. S. P. Chowdhary said he also wrote a letter to Prasad informing about the regular detection of HIV patients in Bangarmau and called the situation unusual. He further added that no action from Prasad was taken. However, Prasad said he could not recall about the letters written by both the officials. Prasad said, “I would have forwarded the letters to the nodal officer (for quacks) to take necessary action.”
A Health Department Official said Amin Welfare Trust found 13 more people with HIV in Bangarmau in November 2017. They immediately shared the findings with the authorities. Amin Welfare Trust is a body appointed by the Uttar Pradesh Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Control Society.
It is said the CMO controls the field work and community health centres. The role of the CMS is restricted to the district hospital where ICTC’s are located. Prasad was suspended after the doctors performed eye surgeries on 32 people under torchlight. The operations took place on the 22 of December 2017, at Nawabgunj Community Health Centre. Prasad further allegedly gave permission to a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) to use the hospital facility. However, Prasad did not provide any accommodation to the patients who were made to spend the night in the open.
The Health Department officials said Chowdhary was appointed as the new CMO on the 28th of December 2017. Since Chowdhary was aware of the problem, he sent teams to Bangarmau where 556 people were screened at the 3 camps. Chowdhary confirmed that after the tests 38 more patients were tested positive for HIV. It is said six people were tested positive for HIV from the same family.
