An Ordeal with Iron, Then a Miracle: The Man Who Had a Drill Pushed into His Head as Violence Raged in Delhi

New Delhi: At 5.15pm on the unfortunate Tuesday evening when Delhi was burning, a patient walked into the Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and caught everyone's attention. He was injured and moved into emergency but had an iron object protruding from the left side of his head.

A few young boys in their 20s accompanying him were in total panic, demanding immediate attention of the medical staff, screaming out that he has been attacked.

In minutes, first aid was administered and those accompanying him told us his name is Vivek Chaudhry and he is 19 years old. Someone had pushed a sharp iron object into his head in rage.

Half an hour later, he was referred to the hospital’s neurological department. In order to run tests, including a possible CT scan, he was sent to another hospital as GTB lacked the requisite facilities. All the tests were wrapped up by about 8pm.

Around midnight, a craniotomy lasting around 45 minutes was performed on Chaudhry at the GTB Hospital. A team of two or three doctors led by Dr Pragyan, head of the Department of Neurology, successfully operated upon Chaudhary and removed the iron object.

On Wednesday morning, GTB Hospital MD Dr Sunil Kumar told CNN-News18 that the patient was on the road to recovery and responding well.

GTB Hospital Assistant MS Dr Rakesh Kalra described it as a surgery performed under very tough circumstances, on a day when close to 200 patients were brought in. “He was stable and that was very helpful...thankfully the object did not pierce very deep else, it could have been really fatal,” said Kalra.

But the question that remained was who attacked Chaudhry, and why and where.

CNN-News18 spoke to his family members who were very apprehensive and scared to share any details, fearing backlash given the volatile situation in the capital.

Babita, Vikas’s older sister, said he was attacked around 4pm on Tuesday in Shiv Market when he had gone out for some work.

“From nowhere he was attacked by some miscreants, that too without any provocation,” she said. “They picked up a sharp iron piece (which looked like a part of a drilling machine) and pushed it into his head. He was stunned and was rushed to the hospital with the help of some locals.”

When asked why Chaudhry was attacked, the family members said, “We have absolutely no idea.”

Chaudhry, who is employed as a private driver, has been in a state of shock since the assault. But he continues to be very quiet and composed.

“Thanks to the grace of the Almighty, my brother is now safe,” said Babita. “He is recovering well and is also able to eat and talk to us.”

More than 22 people have been reported dead and over 200 injured at GTB in the last 48 hours. Most victims have been passersby or those who have had very little to say for or against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).