Bengal: Nurse gets government aid after husband chops off hand

KOLKATA:  Within 48 hours of losing her right palm, which was chopped off by her husband for landing a government job, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced that the incapacity of East Burdwan’s Renu Khatun would not be an issue and that she would join her job as a nurse in a state-run hospital. She also said that the state government would bear Renu’s treatment expenses at a private hospital in Durgapur.

“Renu will get the job which she qualified. We will assign her with some responsibilities where interaction is required. We will also provide her an artificial hand. Besides, we will take care of her treatment expenditure,’’ Mamata said, after returning to Kolkata from north Bengal.

Renu started practising how to write with her left hand while lying on the hospital bed to ensure that she does not get disqualified for the job, a longstanding dream of hers that she pursued and achieved. Nurses from the health department met Renu and stood by her.

Renu’s husband, Sheikh Mohammad, alias Sirazul Sheikh, who was against her decision of taking up the job, was arrested on Tuesday. He smothered his wife with a pillow and cut off her palm on Monday. Renu was to join her post this week.

“I am grateful to the chief minister for her assurance. I have lost my right palm. But I rewrite my life with my left hand. He chopped off my hand to stop me from working. But I will prove him wrong. I will make my dream of becoming a nurse come true,’’ said Renu.

Doctors at the private hospital, where Renu is admitted, said had the severed palm been brought to the hospital on time, her right hand could have been saved. Renu’s determination was noticed by a staffer of the hospital when she asked for a paper and pen on Tuesday. Around a dozen nurses and other employees surrounded her to support her when she scribbled with her left hand.

The injured woman is aware of the challenges that lie ahead in her life. “My father used to work as a private security guard and he worked hard to spend money on my education. I cannot let him down because of my husband’s dastardly act,’’ said Renu. A team of the West Bengal Commission for Women, headed by chairperson Leena Gangopadhyay, also met her at the hospital.