Cellphone blast victim needs multiple surgeries

Mangalore Today News Network

Mysuru: Feb 16, 2015, DHNS:  After the day’s arduous work, listening to music is the only recreation for construction workers. And so was the habit of 18-year-old Seetharam, who would come home and unwind to music on his phone.

But this habit of his has cost him dear, confining him to bed, while his parents have been left with no choice except to pray for his well-being, leave aside the work that ensured them at least a few hundreds and two square of meals per day.

On the day the tragedy struck, (February 3, 2015) Seetharam, who wanted to listen to songs on his spare cellphone (Karbonn make, K9 type, basic model) at home (a makeshift shed), resorted to charging his phone from his father’s mobile charger. Soon after plugging the charger, he pressed a button to assure himself whether or not the battery is charging. What followed next was a loud bang. Seetharam became the latest victim to a cellphone bast, which has left his face completely disfigured.

Pooranadev Sahu, Seetharam’s father, recalls that it was Tuesday and past six in the evening when he had retired to shed. “I wanted him to bring water from outside to help his mother cook. Seetharam brought a pot of water, before borrowing the charger from me. After a while, there was a huge sound from inside. My wife Ranidevi rushed to his side and hugged him, while the younger sons Lakshman, six, and Lakhan, four, were left frozen at the sight before them. Seetharam’s face had been torn apart, with the pieces of flesh scattered, some sticking to the walls of the shed.”

Soon, with the help of other labourers, Seetharam was rushed to a hospital (Adhichunchanagiri Hospital at Nagamangala), where he was advised to be shifted to JSS Hospital in Mysuru. The lower part of Seetharam’s face including his nose and mouth had been severely damaged, with skin dangling and blood oozing from the huge injury - sending the shiver down the spines of the medical staff, who first saw him on his arrival in Mysuru. The doctors who gave him first aid say that Seetharam’s condition was a total mess  -  with split nose and a non-existent mouth. It was a challenging case for them.

Shifted from ICU

After 11 days and two surgeries, Seetharam was shifted to the burns ward from the intensive care unit on February 12. According to a doctor attending to him ever since he was admitted, Seetharam may need at least six to seven surgeries, ahead of a corrective surgery. The boy’s condition is, however, said to be slowly improving.

While the recent surgery  - feeding jejunostomy - enables supply of liquid food through the abdomen, the first and major surgery performed was on February 9. A team of doctors led by plastic surgeon Dr L Vijay operated on Seetharam for nearly seven hours, to primarily reconstruct the nose and mouth for now.

“The nose has been reconstructed without nasal bone, while the vent has been made with the help of plastic pipes to allow him to breathe. The next surgery for reconstruction of upper and lower jaw bone is likely to be performed in a week,” the doctors said. According to the doctors, the jaw bones have been totally damaged with four to five centimetres of hole in them.

Confirming that this was indeed a cellphone blast, the doctors recall another case where the victim had come in with severed fingers, following the charger blast.

Family in dire straits

Before the cellphone blast, Seetharam was contributing to the family income. He and his father were working as daily wagers for Manjunatha Construction and Engineering Company, the firm that has taken up the work of building toll plaza (on Hassan-Mangaluru Road) at Kadaballi in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district. Now, Seetharam is restricted to bed at the JSS Hospital, while his parents and siblings have been camping on the corridors of the burns ward.

Hospitals from outside Mysuru too had evinced interest in treating Seetharam. A multispeciality hospital from Bengaluru too had expressed its willingness to treat Seetharam. Eventually, JSS Hospital authorities decided on retaining the patient.

Sahu and Ranidevi, who left their native Siwan district in Bihar in search of a job eight years ago, landed in Karnataka. According to Sahu, he has worked as a carpenter and mason. “I worked at a college building in Tumakuru, bus stand (KSRTC) work at Peenya, before coming to Mandya for the work on toll plaza on February 1.” It was only a few years ago, after Sahu’s health deteriorated that he summoned his eldest son Seetharam who was studying in Bihar.

Police version

According to the Bindiganavile police, the incident does not fall under the category of cognisable offences. However, to be apprised of the matter, a petition has been received from Venkatesh, the site supervisor, about the mishap. Venkatesh, in his petition, has stated that Sahu came running out of the house yelling that his son Seetharam had been injured in a cellphone blast.

Police also said that the case can be tried under the Consumer Protection Act by a consumer disputes redressal forum.

Karbonn - the maker of the cellphone - is yet to react to the incident. Efforts made by Deccan Herald to know the version of the company proved futile. There is also another version to the incident - Seetharam was simultaneously repairing the charger holding a part of it in his mouth, when the blast occurred, as told by an assistant executive engineer of Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (Cesc) to his higher-ups.


DH News Service