Boy dies after ‘quack’ performs surgery with help of YouTube videos

Saran: A teenage boy died in Bihar’s Saran district after a ‘quack’ allegedly performed a gall bladder-stone removal surgery on him taking help of YouTube videos, police said.

The quack Ajit Kumar Puri who allegedly performed the gall bladder-stone removal surgery taking help of YouTube tutorials was arrested from Bihar’s Gopalganj district on Sunday night, Kumar Ashish, Superintendent of Police (SP), Saran, told PTI on Monday.

The deceased has been identified as Golu alias Krishna Kumar, a resident of Bhualpur village of Saran district. According to family members, Golu was suffering from stomach pain for some time and his family took him to a private clinic at Dharmabagi Bazar in Saran on Friday, police said.

“After Golu was admitted the quack decided to perform gall bladder surgery… after watching videos on YouTube…it was after the surgery, that Golu’s condition worsened. When his condition worsened, the staff of the clinic took him to Patna where he died on the way on September 7. The family members alleged that the quack performed surgery after watching videos on YouTube”, district police said in a statement.

Talking to reporters, Prahlad Prasad, grandfather of the deceased said, “Puri sent me to bring some diesel while my wife remained there. When I came back, I saw Puri was operating my grandson by watching a video on YouTube. He had not taken permission from us for conducting the gall bladder-stone removal surgery. They decided to take Golu to Patna….and he died on the way to Patna”.

“Golu started experiencing severe pain after the surgery at the private clinic on Friday. When Golu’s condition detoriarated…Puri called an ambulance and headed for Patna. But he died on the way on September 7. Puri left Golu’s body and my wife on the road and fled. My wife managed to come back with the body,” Prasad said.

He alleged that Puri was a quack. The family lodged a police complaint on September 7.

Commenting on the incident, Saran SP said, “Puri has been arrested and the district police are in the process of initiating action against his clinic also. The district police have also launched a drive to identify such clinics…”