Jharkhand High Court directs police to lodge FIR over transfusion of 'contaminated blood' to children

Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court has directed the state police to lodge an FIR over alleged transfusion of contaminated blood to children in Chaibasa in West Singhbhum district.

The court of Justice Gautam Kumar Chaudhary was hearing a criminal writ petition filed by a person named Deepak Hembram.

Hembram claimed in the petition that despite all his efforts, no FIR in the case has been registered by the Sadar Police Station in Chaibasa.

The high court directed the officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station in Chaibasa to register an FIR, and take necessary action against those found guilty.

Earlier, a division bench of the court had pulled up the state government for not following the standard operating procedure for blood transfusion, allegedly leading to HIV infection in five children in Jharkhand.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar, while hearing a suo motu PIL, had rapped Health Secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh, following reports that five children of Chaibasa district who underwent blood transfusion, were found to be HIV positive.

The children were thalassemia patients, and had come to the Sadar Hospital in Chaibasa for treatment, which included transfusion of blood.

The high court had directed the health secretary to file an affidavit, and inform the bench details of blood donation camps held in government and private hospitals in the state.

The court had also directed the department to furnish the standard operating procedure to be formulated in accordance with the National Blood Policy, before the bench.

The Jharkhand government had on October 26 suspended the West Singhbhum civil surgeon and a few other officials in connection with the incident.

A high-level probe is also under way upon the direction of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.