Faridabad Woman Was Hit By A Bullet In 2005. It Was Removed 20 Years Later

Two decades after being shot, a Faridabad woman had the bullet removed from her body, surviving all these years completely healthy. She lived a normal life, got married and is now a mother of four children.

It was 2005. Kavita, a resident of Kota Khandelwal village in Manesar, was 12 years old and sitting for a Class 6th exam at her village government school. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower back. Her clothes were torn, and she started bleeding.

Teachers and classmates noticed the wound, but they weren't sure what exactly had happened. Some thought it was a bullet, others assumed it was a sharp object or a graze. "Suddenly, I felt something sharp hit the lower part of my back. It also caused some bleeding. I thought someone had thrown a stone, and it hit me," she told the reporters.

She further said that the teacher sent her home, assuming it was just a minor injury. She said, "My family applied a paste of oil and turmeric on the wound, and it healed on its own after a few days."

Kavita added that there was an army training camp about two kilometers away, where live firing used to take place regularly, and stray bullets often landed nearby. "A stray bullet may have hit me, but no one believed it. I also had no idea a bullet was lodged in my body for the past 20 years," she added.

Two months ago, Kavita noticed a lump forming near her lower back. She consulted a nearby doctor, who prescribed medication, but it provided temporary relief. Later, a woman living in the neighbourhood advised Kavita to try a home remedy and told her to tie an onion to the affected area, saying that it would help the swelling burst and form an opening. The advice worked. On January 3, while she was pressing the lump at home, the bullet suddenly came out and fell on the floor.

Her elder sister, Sunita, said the family had no idea it was a bullet. "There was a wound, but she recovered quickly, so no one thought it was serious," she said, adding that the truth came to light only after the bullet came out.

Dr Upendra Bhardwaj, a neurosurgeon at Badshah Khan Civil Hospital, explained that such cases are possible. "A bullet is a metallic object. When it enters the body, it does not contain any poison. It is just a piece of heated metal," he said.

If a bullet doesn't hit a vital organ, it can remain lodged in the body for years or even a lifetime without causing any serious harm, he said. The bullet can lose its speed after hitting the skin, muscles, bones, or clothing, which is why it can stay inside the body for years, the doctor added.

"Movies often show bullets spreading poison inside the body, but that is not true. A bullet eventually becomes just a metallic fragment, which poses no risk if vital organs are not affected," he added.