GUWAHATI, May 29 - Of the seven donors from whom blood was transfused into the child who eventually got infected by HIV virus, versions of only two of them could be recorded so far by the probe panel.
This has led to further delay in submitting the investigation report into the tragic incident at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
�We could record statements of only two of them and the remaining five are still eluding the probe panel constituted to investigate and fix responsibility,� official sources told this reporter.
Primary investigation into the tragic incident although had suggested that two units of blood were sourced from outside (professional donors), sources, however, said that the claim is still being corroborated and examined.
Meanwhile, Jahnavi Goswami of the Assam Network of Positive People, an organization working for HIV-infected people, alleged that the government tried to gag her for being vocal on the recent issue of the child getting infected with HIV.
�I was pressurized and asked not to speak as I am a government employee. I am not one to remain silent and will continue to speak what is right,� she said during a launch of the State chapter of a human rights group in Guwahati.
Meanwhile, Dr Seema Rekha Devi, head of the department of plastic surgery in GMCH and a key link to the entire probe, has also recorded her statement before the probe panel.
Dr Devi was on leave and could not be questioned ever since the tragic incident came to the fore.
�As of now, we have not been able to find any serious lapse on the part of the GMCH. However, the investigation is not over and we are still probing the case from all angles. If at all any professional donor was encouraged at the GMCH, action would be taken,� sources asserted.
The victim child from Kamrup district was being treated at the GMCH for multiple burn injuries and several units of blood were transfused during the course of the treatment. Multiple surgeries were also done on him.
Meanwhile, another official of the health department told this reporter that the investigation report would be submitted before the authorities concerned within the next ten days.
�We are still trying to contact the remaining five donors. Even if their versions cannot be gathered officially, we will submit the report within the next ten days or so as corroborative blood tests have already been conducted,� the official added.
