india

Updated: Jul 25, 2019 11:14 IST

Jewellery weighing 1.68 kg, 60 coins and a wrist watch were removed from the stomach of a 22-year-old woman at Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday.

The operation in Bengal’s Birbhum district lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Sharmila Moulik, the deputy superintendent of the hospital said that woman, Runi Khatun, is mentally unstable and she has been referred to a psychiatrist.

“Her condition is stable since the surgery was performed. She will be under psychiatric treatment,” Moulik said.

Family members brought Khatun, a resident of Margram in Rampurhat sub-division of Birbhum district, to the hospital a week ago when she complained of stomach pain and nausea.

After radiological tests, doctors found metal objects in her stomach. “We found various types of imitation jewellery, including chains and rings, weighing 1.68 kg. There were 60 coins and even a wrist watch,” said doctor Siddhartha Biswas, a professor and head of the surgery department.

Khatun later told doctors that she swallowed those items. Her family members said that she used to sit in her brother’s costume jewellery shop and possibly swallowed the coins while she was alone.

The woman’s mother said she noticed ornaments disappearing from their home in Margram village but whenever the family questioned her, she used to start crying. “My daughter is mentally unsound. For past few days she was throwing up after having every meal,” the mother said.

“She swallowed jewellery and coin whenever she felt hungry,” said a doctor who was part of the operating team and spoke to Khatun. The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.