Dubai: India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has intervened to support an Indian cook who has been lying in a vegetative state at Rashid Hospital for over five months.
The case of 30-year-old Balveer Singh Kathait was brought to her notice after Harish Rawat, chief minister of Uttarakhand state, Singh’s home state, took it up with her.
A Times of India report on Sunday quoted one of his friends, Jaspal Singh, as saying that Balveer Singh had been admitted for the last five months “owing to illness and was unable to return to Ghansali [his hometown] as he does not have sufficient money”. The report added that Singh was rendered jobless due to his ill health.
However, the Indian Consulate in Dubai has clarified that Balveer Singh was admitted after an alleged suicide attempt by slashing his neck and not because he fell sick.
In a statement issued to Gulf News, the consulate said Singh, who was working with a seafood restaurant in Dubai, was admitted to the hospital after he attempted to commit suicide on February 27 by inflicting a wound to his neck with a knife. It did not specify the reason for the attempted suicide.
“The doctors confirmed that his heart had stopped for 32 minutes before being resuscitated and because of this his brain is damaged. While they were able to save his life, he is presently in a vegetative state, with no awareness of his surroundings and cannot communicate,” the mission said.
Following a tracheotomy, Singh is at the post-surgery general ward of the hospital, ready to be repatriated to India.
“The consulate has been in regular touch with Rashid Hospital on this case. Under UAE laws, the hospital here can transfer a patient to India only if an acceptance letter from a hospital in India is received. Therefore, the consulate is in constant touch with the authorities in Uttarakhand to locate a suitable hospital in Tehri Garhwal [Singh’s native district], to locate a suitable hospital close to his residence that could undertake full responsibility for the treatment and care of Balveer Singh,” the mission said.
His local company, however, has claimed that they have located a hospital in Mumbai which is prepared to accept him, the consulate said.
“Considering that the family will not be able to take care of the patient at a place far away from the residence, in fact a totally different state, we are continuously working with the state authorities in Uttarakhand for locating a hospital suitable to adequately meet the treatment requirements of Balveer Singh. We are hopeful of resolving the issue at the earliest,” the mission added.
Singh’s company refused to comment.
