It took S.N. Yadav a few seconds to make sense of what he saw in the operation theatre.
After all, it isn't every day a doctor sees a patient carrying six kg of iron, 121 coins, dozens of nuts and bolts and three key rings, in his stomach!
Though the doctor in Chhattisgarh's industrial town Korba successfully completed the two-hour surgery, a question is still hovering in his mind: "How was he carrying six kg of iron-made items for several months?"
Patient Kaleshwar Singh, 26, was brought to Shristi Institute of Medical Research on Saturday in acute pain. After serious blockage was found in his stomach in a sonography, Yadav decided to conduct an immediate surgery.
"I was stunned to find 421 coins, dozens of nuts and bolts and three key rings in his stomach. Luckily the patient survived and his condition is stable now," Yadav told the media over phone from Korba, located some 220 km north from here.
Yadav said Kaleshwar was in acute pain for about three months and had consulted a few doctors in his village Korkoma, about 20 km from Korba, but his problem was not detected.
Kaleshwar's family members think he is suffering from some mania and he has a habit of eating everything he finds.