New Delhi: A 21-year-old female student critically injured in police action during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on Monday has shown signs of improvement, and has been taken off ventilator at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, officials said Wednesday.
“She is conscious and responding appropriately to commands. Her MRI of the brain and spine is normal,” hospital officials said in a health bulletin Wednesday.
They said Sakshi, a resident of Chhattarpur Extension in Delhi, was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital Monday, and has now been extubated i.e. removed from the ventilator, and is breathing on her own.
“Her clinical condition has been showing steady improvement since the initiation of treatment, and she continues to receive comprehensive medical care under the close supervision of the treating team,” the bulletin added.
Sakshi was believed to have suffered asphyxia after she fell down as police threw tear gas shells on protesters attempting to march towards Parliament, triggering a stampede-like situation. She was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the RML Hospital.
Asphyxia is a life-threatening condition in which the body is unable to get enough oxygen, leading to unconsciousness, or even death.
Sources said that she sustained serious injuries to her face, chest and neck. , and is currently admitted in the ICU. She had attended the protest with her elder sister, who suffered injuries to her leg. Sakshi is pursuing an Advanced Diploma in Computer Applications (ADCA).
Several protesters were brought to RML Hospital after the chaos erupted Monday during the CJP’s march to Parliament to press for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leaks. To disperse the protestors gathered in thousands, the Delhi Police resorted to lathicharge and used tear gas.
On Tuesday, hospital authorities did not respond to multiple queries from ThePrint seeking details of the nature of Sakshi’s injuries or those sustained by other students admitted at RML after Monday’s protest.
Many other protesters were reportedly brought to RML Hospital on Tuesday, but there was no official clarification on the total number of injured students admitted or how many were discharged after treatment.
On Wednesday, the hospital administration informed that Sakshi remained the only patient admitted to RML Hospital in connection with the reported incident.
Sources, meanwhile, said around 180 injured people were brought to the RML Hospital emergency department until 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Among them were 89 police personnel. Of the total injured, 96 were referred to the surgery department for treatment of injuries requiring procedures such as stitches and plaster cast.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reportedly visited the RML Hospital on Tuesday and met Sakshi’s mother.
When ThePrint visited RML Hospital on Tuesday, deployment of Delhi Police personnel and Rapid Action Force (RAF) was seen across the premises. Despite multiple requests, ThePrint reporter was not allowed to meet Sakshi’s family members or speak to them about her condition.
The head of the department of Surgery at RML, Dr Neeti Kapur, under whose observation Sakshi is admitted, declined to comment on her condition.
On Tuesday afternoon, some injured students were brought to the hospital by fellow protesters.
Among them was 19-year-old Pankaj Gupta (name changed), a political science student from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. Siddhant, a 22-year-old second-year philosophy student at Delhi University who has been participating in the protest since 20 June, brought him there with his friend Jitendra Nagar carrying Pankaj Gupta (name changed) on a stretcher.
Pankaj, whose video also went viral on social media, had travelled to Delhi on Monday to join the protest without telling his family about it. Pankaj met Siddhant at the protest and the two became friends.
Siddhant said that Pankaj’s belongings had been stolen and that he had been assaulted by men in plain clothes who abused him and threatened him for recording videos.
“He was hit with sticks on his hands, back and feet by five to six men who were not wearing police uniforms,” Siddhant told ThePrint.
Siddhant, who took shelter at the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, said that he got a call from Pankaj telling him that he was badly injured. Later that night, Siddhant took him to his home in Saket and brought him to RML for treatment on Tuesday.
After Gupta’s X-ray report came back normal, he was discharged with a prescription of painkillers and antibiotics.
“He still has pain throughout his body — in his shoulders, chest, buttocks, legs,” Nagar said.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Prakhar Agarwal)