Surgeon Sentenced for Sterilization Deaths in Chhattisgarh

A court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur has sentenced a surgeon to two years in jail following the deaths of 12 women after sterilization surgeries performed by him in 2014.

The First District and Additional Sessions Judge found Dr. R K Gupta guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and fined Rs 25,000 for each of the 12 deaths, according to Additional Public Prosecutor Devendra Rao Somawar.

The case revolved around a sterilization camp at Pendari in Bilaspur district, where 83 women were operated on in a span of three hours. After the operations, many fell ill, and 12 died. Negligence during procedures and contaminated medication were cited as causes. Five associated with pharmaceutical firms were acquitted for lack of evidence.