The 17-year-old girl who survived the attack by an alleged stalker in Hyderabad was discharged from the Yashoda Hospital on Wednesday. The girl after gaining consciousness had reportedly told her father that she wanted her attacker to face capital punishment.
When the girl's father was asked for his daughter's reaction to the attack, the father said, “He needs to be hung or shot, that’s what my daughter said. She wants him to stand trial in a fast track court."
The second-year intermediate student was on her way to college on February 6 when 19-year old C Bharath allegedly attacked and stabbed her.
Bharath, a first-year degree student, allegedly stabbed the girl 15 to 17 times on her neck, hands and head with a coconut sickle. The attack took place near the girl's home. Bharath, who was arrested soon after the attack, had been allegedly stalking the girl for the past year and had claimed to be in love with her. The girl and her family had even approached the Hyderabad SHE team who had counselled Bharath, but he attacked the girl despite receiving support.
After the attack, the girl was taken to Yashoda Hospital at Malakpet where a team of doctors helped save her life. The doctors required over 20 units of blood to save her.
“Had she been brought 10 minutes later, we would not have been able to save her. She was gasping for breath when they wheeled her in,“ said Dr Vijay Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of Yashodha hospital, Malakpet. The doctors had even created a WhatsApp group to keep each other updated on the status of the girl. ”It took 48 hours for her blood pressure to stabilise before we could operate on her. Our worry was that the blood pressure would damage her nervous system. Today before being discharged she was able to walk and talk to her family normally,“ he added.
The doctors told TNM that her left-hand index finger, which had been severed, has been re-attached. She will regain full control of her finger in due course.
Based on doctor's advice, the family of the 17-year-old has moved her to a relative's home to keep her away from the locality where she was assaulted, “A trauma such as this could develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the survivor and we don’t want to take chances,” said Dr Srinivas Botla, a neurosurgeon. “Her mental health is stable, she is eating well and needs 2 to 3 weeks of rest. She just weighs 37 kilograms, we have designed a diet plan for her so that she gains some weight in the months ahead,” he added
The girl's father told TNM that at the moment his daughter is concerned about her upcoming exams. "She is more worried about not being able to give her exams that will begin in a few days, but her hands are still healing so she won't be able to write. Her college is willing to hold an exam at a later date for her.” The father thanked the doctors, the local MLA and the corporator for their help.
Hospital sources told TNM that the treatment for the 17-year-old cost “three times more than the Rs 5 lakh given out through the Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF),” The hospital, however, does not expect to be financially compensated for their service, the source added.