'Botched' hair transplant at UP's private clinic kills two

Kanpur (UP) | Two engineers died after allegedly undergoing a hair transplant treatment at a private clinic here, police said Thursday.

According to police, the victims had gone to Dr Anushka Tiwari's clinic, Empire, for their treatment.

The incident came to light when Vineet Dubey's wife, Jaya Tripathi, filed a complaint on the chief minister's portal against the clinic.

In her complaint, she said that Dubey (40) had a badly swollen face and suffered pain before his death on March 14, a day after undergoing a hair transplant at Dr Tiwari's clinic, Additional DCP West Vijendra Dwivedi said.

The infection is believed to have developed during the procedure and was left untreated, leading to a rapid deterioration of his condition and subsequent death, the officer said.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was lodged on May 9 under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita's section 106(1), for causing death by negligence.

However, this is not an isolated incident. After Dubey's case became known in the area, Kushagra Katiyar came forward and filed a complaint with Commissioner of Police Akhil Kumar on Thursday against the same clinic.

He told the reporters that his brother, Mayank Katiyar, had also undergone surgery on November 18 in the Empire clinic. Hours later, he complained of chest pain and swelling and died the very next day.

Kushagra recounted that Mayank's face was badly swollen and he experienced immense chest pain after returning home to Farrukhabad from the clinic.

"Dr Anushka had advised them to get an injection for the pain, but it offered no relief. A cardiologist found no heart-related issues, but Mayank tragically passed away while being transported back to Kanpur," Kushagra told the reporters.

Police are seeking legal opinion on whether to lodge a separate FIR for the death of Mayank Katiyar or to combine his case with that of Vineet Dubey's, Dwivedi said.

"Two police teams have been formed to locate Dr Anushka Tiwari, who has reportedly gone underground to evade arrest since Vineet Dubey's death became public," the officer said. Further investigation is underway.