Unmarried Deaf Man Sterilised on the Pretext of COVID Vaccine
In Etah district of Uttar Pradesh, a deaf man was sterilised on the pretext of giving him COVID shot at the district hospital.
In a shocking incident reported from Etah district of Uttar Pradesh, a deaf man was sterilised on the pretext of giving him COVID shot at the district hospital. The incident took place on Sunday 11 July 2021. The man’s name is Dhruv Kumar. He is 40 years old and unmarried.
The district health department had given targets to Asha workers to conduct sterilization on married men with children, in each block for World Population Day which was on 11 July 2021. Workers would be paid Rs 400 if they achieved their target. Asha worker Neelam Kumari went to Dhruv Kumar’s house and met his brother Ashok Kumar. He said, “My wife and I are uneducated and are unaware about the process of COVID vaccination. Asha worker Neelam came to our house and asked permission to take our brother to get the jab. She also said my brother would be paid Rs 3,000 by the government for taking the vaccine. Inorder to get the money she told me to give her bank passbook and aadhar card of my brother. I gave her all the documents and allowed her to take him to the hospital.” Neelam had done this because she wanted to complete her target of sterilising men, so that she could get Rs 400. The Rs 3,000 that she promised is actually a government scheme in which men who agree to sterilisation are paid but she said the money would be given for vaccination. She took Dhruv to the hospital and instead of giving him the vaccine, she got him sterilised. She then left him on the road midway to his house. Dhruv reached home and fell unconscious. He has been referred to a hospital in Agra as his condition is serious and requires better treatment.
Etah chief medical officer Dr Umesh Tripathi said the entire matter is being investigated. A complaint has been filed and police are also investigating the matter.
