Indian doctor arrested after sterilisation surgery goes wrong, leading to 13 deaths
Medic blames tainted drugs for 13 deaths, not his surgical procedures
The doctor who conducted sterilisation procedures after which 13 women died in central India has been arrested and blamed tainted post-surgery drugs for the deaths.
Dr R.K. Gupta, who had been hiding since Saturday's operations, was arrested at a relative's home near Bilaspur city late on Wednesday, said Dr S.K. Mandal, the chief medical officer of Chhattisgarh state.
Gupta denied responsibility for the deaths and blamed medication given to the women after the surgery.
A total of 83 women had the surgery as part of a free government-run mass sterilisation campaign and were sent home that evening. But dozens became ill and were rushed in ambulances to private hospitals in Bilaspur.
Mandal said at least 13 women died and dozens more were sent to hospital, including at least 16 fighting for their lives.
Gupta had performed over 80 sterilisations in six hours - a clear breach of government protocol, which prohibits surgeons from performing more than 30 sterilisations in a day, Mandal said. He said that investigators were also trying to determine whether the women, all of them poor villagers, had been given tainted medicines.