Panna Ismail, the terror suspect nabbed in Puttur, Andhra Pradesh, underwent a second surgery on Saturday afternoon to remove a bullet that was lodged in his abdomen.
The surgery, carried out at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) where Ismail has been undergoing treatment for the past week, lasted around half an hour.
According to hospital officials, the surgery was needed as the bullet was wedged deep in his body. The bullet was later sent to the forensic department for analysis, an official said.
On October 5, in an 11-hour-long joint operation by the Tamil Nadu special CID and the Andhra Pradesh police in Puttur, Panna Ismail and Bilal Malik were smoked out of their hiding.
Malik is now in police custody. Panna suffered bullet injuries and was admitted to GH. A policeman who was attacked by the duo is also in hospital. Ismail was admitted to hospital almost 12 hours after he was shot at.
In a surgery that lasted several hours, a team of surgeons including gastroenterologists tried to remove the bullet. It had passed between the chest and abdomen, through his large intestine and colon, and grazed the pancreas.
Since the patient had not eaten for over 12 hours, doctors were more concerned with saving his life than removing the bullet at the time, the hospital official said.
The first surgery involved cleaning the abdominal area and stabilising the patient. A second CT scan was done two days ago to assess the best way to remove the bullet. On Saturday, the bullet was removed through the back. Doctors said Ismail might be discharged within a week.
Three-tier police protection was provided to the suspect at the hospital and parts of the premises were cordoned off.
