The birth of a son following a sterilisation operation has led a man from Dabhoi to lodge a complaint against the Vadodara district health officials.

Bhupendra Mochi (38), who repairs bags, has alleged in his complaint with the Vadodara Consumer Court that despite opting for the state government’s sterilisation programme in 2007, his wife gave birth to a son on July 26, 2009. This led to acrimony in the family, as he suspected his wife of infidelity.

He alleged that after learning about state government’s NSV plan for sterilisation, he opted for the scheme and

underwent the free operation at the sterilisation camp in Kayavarohan town on August 23, 2007. “We had four daughters and both my wife and I decided that we would not go for more children,” said Mochi. But his wife became pregnant on January 2, 2009.

Later, after tests at a private laboratory established Mochi as the father of the child, he discovered that the sterilisation operation was a failure.

Mochi, who has four daughters and a son now, approached the president of the Consumer Forum P C Mistry. And on Wednesday, he filed a complaint against chief surgeon of the Dabhoi Primary Healthcare Centre and Dabhoi PHC’s medical officer to pay for the damages.

His legal counsel Jayanti Parmar said: “My client’s domestic bliss was lost with the news of the birth of another child, which was unwanted. My client’s mental peace was lost, as he grew suspicious of his wife. After tests showed that my client was the father of the child (Ronak), he wanted his wife to abort it as he could not afford the cost of raising another child.”

... contd.