Rape convict petitions HC to undergo `weight loss` surgery

Mumbai: A rape convict undergoing sentence in Pune`s Yerwarda prison has moved the Bombay High Court seeking temporary bail to undergo Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, as he is `obese and tremendously overweight`.

Hearing his plea yesterday, Justices Naresh Patil and A R Joshi asked the Prison Superintendent to examine the convict, Atmaram Dengle, and submit the medical reports about his condition to the court within two weeks. Dengle wrote a letter to the High Court which has been converted into a writ petition. He pleaded in the letter that he was advised to undergo weight loss surgery as he weighed 145 kgs, which was considered as overweight. Dengle further submitted that he was suffering from diabetes, blood pressure, blood clotting and asthma. He said he was not able to perform daily chores as he was obese and overweight. He also said that he had the tendency to gain weight and needed to undergo surgery urgently. The jail doctor had told him that such a surgery would not be possible in the government hospitals and that he would have to go to a private hospital, he mentioned. Dengle urged the court to release him on temporary bail for three months so that he could undergo the surgery during the period. PTI