MoS Kiren Rijiju with CRPF CO Chetan Cheetah at AIIMS. PTI
New Delhi, April 5
Almost two months after CRPF Commander Chetan Cheetah, 45, went into coma with nine bullet wounds suffered during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the officer today walked out of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after making a “miraculous” recovery.Cheetah, who belongs to Rajasthan, was wheeled in on February 14 at the trauma centre after being airlifted from Srinagar. Doctors said he had shown a steely resolve to respond to their intensive medical care.Subodh Kumar, Professor of Trauma Surgery at AIIMS, while announcing his recovery, said it was “nothing short of a miracle”.“Cheetah was in coma for 16 days and spent a month in the intensive care unit,” Amit Gupta, Additional Medical Superintendent at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, said.Gupta said the Commanding Officer (CO) of CRPF’s 45th Battalion in the Kashmir Valley had suffered bullet injuries to the head, upper limbs, waist, pelvic region, hands and right eye.Doctors said the chances of vision returning to the right eye were “bleak” although his left eye, which had splinter injuries, had been restored.Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Twitter hailed the courage of the officer. “Fortune favours the brave. Extremely happy to know that Cheetah has made a miraculous recovery. I thank the team of doctors who have helped Chetan Cheetah in his recovery. Hope to see Cheetah back in action soon.” His deputy Kiren Rijiju visited the officer at the hospital and said he was “proud” of him.Cheetah said he felt proud when Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and Rijiju visited him and recognised his contribution.The team of medical experts described the treatment provided to him over 45 days. “Within 24 hours of admission, surgery was conducted to remove a portion of the skull which had suffered the bullet injury to reduce intra-cranial pressure. After that, he underwent multiple surgeries.“Cheetah also developed signs of sepsis due to his wounds, which was managed by critical care specialists in the ICU. His wounds were regularly debrided,” Subodh said. Doctors say Cheetah will be left with some amount of disability but with proper rehabilitation and physiotherapy will improve over the time.His wife Uma Singh, who has been besides her husband since the near-fatal encounter, was anxious to take him home after being discharged today and said “normalcy in our lives will come back once he wears the uniform and goes to office”. — TNS/PTI
Comatose for 16 days after encounter in J&K
- On February 14, CRPF commander Chetan Cheetah suffered nine bullet wounds during an encounter with terrorists inBandipora’s Hajjan area of J&K
- He was initially treated at the Army Base Hospital, Srinagar, before being airlifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he underwent brain surgery
- He remained in coma for 16 days and spent a month in the ICU. He had bullet injuries in the head, upper limbs, waist, pelvic region, hands and right eye