Delhi gang-rape victim critical but stable: Doctors

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: The 23-year-old medical student, who was brutally gang-raped by six men on a moving bus, was again put on the ventilator support late on Sunday with doctors expressing concern over health. The 23-year-old medical student, who showed signs of improvement on Saturday, was diagnosed with severe infection seeping in her body and platelet levels falling. Doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital said on Monday that the girl is stable but critical and is on ventilator electively. She underwent a "small operation" yesterday after medical examination suggested fluid collection in her abdomen. The victim`s platelet count has been fluctuating since Saturday and it stood at a low 19,000 during the last observation yesterday. Normal platelet count in a healthy individual is between 150,000 and 450,000 per micro-litre of blood. The doctors said sepsis, a severe blood infection that can lead to organ failure, is one of their major concerns and noted that the bilirubin level of the victim has increased to 6.3. The paramedical student, who was gangraped last Sunday night in a moving bus here, was also administered another four bottles of platelet-rich plasma. The girl is also suffering from high fever, the doctors said. The girl developed breathing problems on Sunday morning and had even vomited a day earlier. Meanwhile, an emotional father of the gang-rape victim yesterday appealed to the protesters to stop vandalism and help police in bringing the culprits to justice at the earliest. He also appealed to the people to pray for his 23-year-old daughter, who is fighting for her life at a city hospital. "My daughter is stable now. She is conscious. I appeal to all to refrain from vandalism and help the police so that the process of capturing and sentencing the culprits is successful," he said. The victim`s father said the fighting capacity in his daughter still remains the same. "The capability to live and fight on is still the same in my daughter. Please pray to God that my daughter recovers. Vandalism will do no good. I appeal to you don`t cause any damage so that both you and I can carry on in peace. No words can describe how brave my girl is...," he said. With Agency Inputs