Gurgaon: “I don’t know how I will manage my life now,” Sanju Devi wondered aloud. Twelve days after losing her right forearm in a mustard oil extraction machine, Sanju (35) has remained confined to a hospital bed, battling acute pain after three surgeries and worrying about how her family will survive. “The doctors have told me that if there is another infection, they may have to amputate my entire arm,” Sanju told TOI.Sanju, who was working at Richa Food Industry near Bhim Nagar Chowk, was injured on Sept 25 when her hand got caught in the oil extraction machine. She was rushed to Optimus Hospital in Garhi Harsaru, where she has remained admitted.“I screamed for help, but there was nobody there to switch off the machine,” she said, recounting the accident. Sanju was alone at the unit when she was operating the machine and extracting oil. “Even though I was not an expert, I was repeatedly asked to do the extraction work despite my objections. My hand got caught in the machine and it pulled my entire body towards it. I somehow used all my strength to pull myself back.”Sanju said she eventually managed to free herself but only after she lost almost half her arm, which fell in the machine, and ran out of the unit, bleeding heavily, before seeking help from people on the road. “I was in unbearable pain and there was blood everywhere. Fruit sellers outside took me to the hospital. If I had not pulled myself back when I did, the machine could have pulled my entire body in,” she said.Her family says the treatment bills have now reached around Rs 13 lakh, of which her employer has so far paid Rs 3 lakh, and alleges that the factory owner has not paid the remaining medical expenses, forcing her to stay in the hospital. For Sanju, the mounting bills are only one part of the ordeal. “We requested my employer several times to get me discharged from the hospital after clearing the bills but she conveyed that she didn’t have money and would take days to arrange the amount. My whole life has been ruined and I am already feeling helpless,” Sanju said.A case was registered at City Gurgaon police station under sections 125(a) and 289 of BNS against unit owner Richa Gupta. Police had earlier said they were investigating the circumstances of the incident.Richa disputed allegations of negligence and said the worker had been operating the machine on her own for over six years. “She had been handling my entire business at Dhankot for nearly five-six years. Even after we shifted here four months back, she told me that there was not enough work to require another person and that she could manage it herself,” Gupta told TOI,adding, “I have sympathy for the worker and we are trying to settle the matter. It is not that we are backing out. I didn’t have any intentions to hurt her.”On the circumstances leading to the accident, she alleged that the worker was not following safety precautions while operating the machine. “There were clear instructions that iron bangles should not be worn, the dupatta should not be around the neck and the hair should be tied while operating the machine. She was wearing iron bangles at the time,” she said. Richa said the bangles became entangled in the machine. “I have the video footage. There was an iron strip and a wooden component inside the machine, and the iron bangles got entangled and bent,” she said, attributing the accident to what she described as the worker’s “negligence”.On the medical treatment, she said the doctors had initially been told that a payment of around Rs 6 lakh could facilitate an attempt to reattach the severed limb. “We said we would arrange the Rs 6 lakh and asked them to try to reattach the hand. If it could not be reattached, we were prepared to take her to a govt hospital such as Safdarjung or AIIMS,” she claimed. Richa alleged that despite an advance payment of around Rs 3 lakh, the family continued to receive additional bills. She also claimed that during discussions over a settlement, the family sought compensation of Rs 18-20 lakh apart from the medical expenses.Richa said she had previously tried to employ additional workers but the woman had preferred to work alone. “We had even kept a woman worker, but I would get calls every day from Sanju saying that the other worker did not know the work and that Sanju would do it herself. She never allowed anyone else to stay,” Richa claimed.Lying on the hospital bed, Sanju keeps thinking about her two children and what lies ahead for them. “I was working because my husband’s earnings as a labourer were not enough to run the family. He also has health issues. Now I have lost my hand and I don’t know how I will earn or meet the expenses of my children. I am in so much pain,” Sanju said, fearing further complications.Her son Akash, a Class 8 student, has been struggling to come to terms with what happened to his mother. He wants her to eventually get a silicone or robotic hand so that she can regain some independence. “It is very painful for me to see my mother like this. I want her to get a hand so she can live normally again. I want to become a video editor, but now I am scared that I may have to leave school because of our financial problems. I don’t know how my mother will live her life normally,” Akash said.Sanju’s husband Prahalad, a labourer, said he is also finding it difficult to cope with his wife’s condition. “It disturbs me every time I see her in pain. She stays awake and keeps crying whole night. I don’t know how we will manage the treatment expenses and the family now,” he said. Sanju’s family says the immediate concern is arranging money for her continuing treatment and helping her recover from the physical and emotional trauma. They also worry about how the family will manage once she is discharged, given that she was one of its sources of income.
