A person here has claimed that his father, who had been subjected to a controversial drug trial in 2010, passed away after being ill for a long time due to alleged side-effects of the medicines.
In a complaint lodged with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Pradeep Gehlod has charged that his father Shrikrishna Gehlod (65) died on January 19, because of a drug trial conducted on him by a doctor, identified as Ashok Bajpai.
The claim comes close on the heels of a similar complaint by a woman to the NHRC early this month, who alleged that her husband died in April 2010 because of a drug trial.
However, Bajpai while admitting that the patient was part of the trial, claimed that he died as he was suffering from a serious lung disease.
"The allegation that he died because of drug trial is 'funny'. The drug trial ended in 2010 while he died in 2012," he said.
Meanwhile, an NGO 'Swasthya Adhikar Manch' has urged the NHRC to take cognizance of the complaint.
"Gehlod who was suffering from breathing problems was admitted in the state-run Manorama Raje TB Hospital on January 5, 2009, where he was asked to sign a few papers as his treatment was to be carried out using a special drug imported from America," the Manch's activist Amulya Nidhi said.
After Gehlod signed the papers, he was subjected to the drug trial and because of its side-effects he remained ill for a long time and finally died three days ago, Nidhi said, adding that Gehlod was educated only up to the fifth standard and was not specifically told about ill-effects of the medicine he was being given.
Bajpai said that Gehlod, a long-time chain smoker, was suffering from 'chronic obstructive pulmonary disease', a disease related to lungs and was also suffering from TB.
"He was subjected to the drug trial to improve his condition. He was given an inhaler. This drug trial ended in 2010 while he died in 2012," he said.
The Madhya Pradesh government had recently fined about a dozen doctors here for conducting drug trials without permission.