Acid Attack Survivor, "Chhapaak" Actor, Struggles For Father's Treatment

An acid attack survivor from Uttar Pradesh, who last year worked with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone in "Chhappak", has been struggling to get her father treated for cancer amid the lockdown to break the COVID-19 chain of transmission. The nationwide restrictions on movement, while critical to prevent the virus from spreading further, have left some people suffering other critical diseases scrambling for medical care and treatment.

In response to a Twitter post highlight her plight, Chandra Bhushan Singh, the District Magistrate of UP's Aligarh, posted: "The daughter of a cancer patient has been informed to submit an application before Aligarh city magistrate. She will be given permission to take her father to another city for treatment".

The UP government has also pointed out there is an e-pass system for those forced to travel during lockdown because of medical emergencies.

In July 2014 Jeetu Sharma, then just 17 years old, was attacked with acid by a 55-year-old man who had been stalking her. Last year she played the role of Ms Padukone's friend in "Chhappak", a movie about the life and struggles of acid attack survivors.

Ms Sharma's father, Somdutt Sharma, 55, is a head constable with Uttar Pradesh Police currently posted to Mainpuri district in the western part of the state. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in January and was receiving treatment at a private hospital in Noida.

Jeetu Sharma starred alongside Deepika Padukone in last year's "Chhappak"

"His treatment was happening at Jaypee Hospital in Noida. But I have not been able to take him for treatment because of the lockdown. His condition became very bad in the past few days; he can't swallow anything. I called the district administration (helpline number 112) and they said to go to the police station," Ms Sharma said.

She claimed she then went to a local police station in Aligarh, where she was told arrange for a taxi and take her father to Delhi for treatment. "The cops said no one will stop you. I asked what I would say if I was stopped on the way but they said nothing," she said.

Ms Sharma also said the Noida hospital had insisted on negative COVID-19 tests before continuing treatment for her father. Aligarh's chief medical officer met Ms Sharma this morning to arrange for the test and facilitate travel to the hospital.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Ms Sharma claimed she initially took her father to Aligarh's Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (which is affiliated to the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University) but was turned away.

"I was told new cancer patients were not being admitted. I tried to speak to a senior doctor but nobody responded. By that time the ambulance that dropped us to the hospital had left and the helpline said I needed referral papers for another one to come. I had to take my father back home in a rickshaw in this heat," she posted.

AMU's public relations department said that while the hospital is concentrating on the COVID-19 virus, cancer patients in emergency condition were being treated.

"We are a frontline hospital for COVID-19. If our cancer patients are stable, we are not calling them. But if there is an emergency, we are looking at such patients," Professors Shafey Kidwai, the PR in-charge, said, adding that cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy had weak immune systems and should avoid coming to hospitals except for emergency.

"My father served the police for 30 years but nobody in the administration has helped him. We have not been able to send his medical papers to the department in Mainpuri, so he has not received any salary either in these few months," Ms Sharma added.