Doctor arrested after mass sterilization deaths in India

The doctor who conducted sterilization procedures after which 13 women died in central India has been arrested, a top medical official said today.

Dr. R.K. Gupta, who had been hiding since Saturday's operations, was arrested at a relatives' home in Bilaspur city late Wednesday.

Gupta had performed over 80 sterilization surgeries in six hours — a clear breach of government protocol, which prohibits surgeons from performing more than 30 sterilizations in a day.

A total of 83 women had the surgeries as part of a free government-run mass sterilization campaign and were sent home that evening. But dozens became ill and were rushed in ambulances to private hospitals in Bilaspur.

Sources said at least 13 women died and dozens more were hospitalized, including at least 16 in critical condition.

Investigators were also trying to determine whether the women, all of them poor villagers, had been given tainted medicines during their time at the "health camp" where they underwent the operations.

The deaths have put a spotlight on the prevalence of sterilization as a method of contraception in India, and whether the operations can really be regarded as voluntary.