Chetan Cheetah, the Commandant of the Centre Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who had sustained nine bullets during an encounter with terrorists in Kashmir, made a “miraculous” recovery under the watchful eyes of the critical care experts of AIIMS and was discharged from AIIMS on Wednesday after almost two months of hopsitalisation.
The brave officer was flown to AIIMS from Apex Trauma Centre, Srinagar, on February 14. Doctors attending to him said, he has shown a steely resolve to respond to their intensive medical care that went on for close to about two months.
Union Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju met the officer hours before he was discharged from the hospital. Rijiju heaped praise on the never say die CRPF Commander and the team of doctors from AIIMS who made it possible.
For the doctors of the AIIMS, Cheetah’s recovery was a miracle as the brave officer was in coma for 16 days and he was admitted in a highly critical condition.
Dr Subodh Kumar, Professor of Trauma Surgery at the AIIMS, while announcing Cheetah’s recovery, told the journalists, it was “nothing short of a miracle”.
“Cheetah was in coma for 16 days and spent a month in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He is fit to be discharged now,” Amit Gupta, Additional Medical Superintendent at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, said.
Dr Gupta said the Commanding Officer (CO) of the CRPF’s 45th battalion in Kashmir Valley had suffered bullet injuries in his brain, right eye, abdomen, both the arms, left hand and in the buttock region.
According to doctors, the hope for vision returning to Cheetah’s right eye is “bleak” although vision in his left eye, which to sustained splinter injuries, has been restored. “When he was brought in, he was in coma, had bullet injuries in his head, badly fractured torso and the globe of his eight eye had ruptured,” Gupta said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh took to Twitter to hail the courage of the officer and said he wants to see Cheetah back in action. “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,” the Minister said.
Rijiju said he was “proud” of the officer.
Cheetah, in his short comments, said he felt proud when Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and Rijiju visited him during his admission at the hospital and recognised his contribution to the nation.
The team of medical experts and doctors described the treatment provided to him over the last over 1.5 months.
“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 ICU. His wounds were regularly rid of waste matters,” Subodh said.
According to doctors, Cheetah will be left with some amount of disability, but with proper rehabilitation and physiotherapy it will improve over the time.
The CO’s wife, Uma Singh, who has been besides her husband since the near-fatal encounter, was anxious to take him home after his release on Wednesday and said, “normalcy in our lives will come back once he wears the uniform and goes to office”.
Hailing from Rajasthan, Cheetah bore the initial brunt of the militant encounter in Hajjan area on February 14 where a joint team of Army, CRPF and State police had laid siege following intelligence inputs that two foreign terrorists were hiding in the area.
Cheetah was commanding the 45th Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
He was initially taken to the base hospital in Srinagar where he was operated upon and given primary treatment after which he was shifted using an air ambulance to the AIIMS trauma centre at 7.30 PM the same day.
Doctors said he was shifted to ward on March 16 where he underwent rehabilitation in the form of physiotherapy and speech therapy with a total ICU stay of 30 days. Subsequently, they said, the wounds were covered with skin grafting by the plastic surgery team.
“His comeback to normal life has shown the true grit of a warrior,” Anurag Srivastava, Chief of AIIMS Apex Trauma Centre, said.