The bullet stuck in the spinal cord of Transport Minister Gopal Rai for the last 17 years was successfully removed on Friday as he underwent an operation at Apollo Hospital. Rai was admitted to the hospital on Thursday for a planned surgery.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited Rai in the hospital in the afternoon, along with Health Minister Satyendra Jain, to enquire about his health and wished him a swift recovery. later, Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra also visited him.
Rai was operated by spine specialist senior surgeon Dr RG Krishnan. In a statement, the hospital said the surgery has been performed successfully and the bullet has been removed without complications.
“He (Rai) also has residual neurological impairment in his extremities, mainly in the right upper limb and some imbalance in the lower extremities. He will attend the Apollo Hospital at Hyderabad for upper limb rehabilitation and later move to Apollo Hospital Chennai for Gait training,” said the hospital in a statement.
Rai had suffered a gunshot wound in his neck in 1999 in lucknow University during a student agitation for decriminalisation of student politics after which, he was paralysed for one-and-a-half years. However, over the next three years, he recovered enough to be able to walk.
Doctors said gunshot wound caused spinal cord injury by indirect effect which is miraculous as direct gunshot wound to the neck leads to complete irreversible quadriplegia (paralysis) in most cases.
“He has had bullet in his neck from 1999, which was lodged at the back of his neck and over time had migrated to burrow under the skin at the back of the upper thoracic spine. However the projectile was so easy to access and removed with anesthesia, the decision was made to remove the lead bullet from his body,” the statement added.