A Sikh British schoolgirl, who died while being treated for dehydration at a clinic in Punjab, was “murdered,” according to her parents who alleged that their daughter was the victim of a failed attempt to “harvest” her organs.
Eight-year-old Gurkiren Kaur Loyal from Birmingham, who was on holiday in India, died within minutes of being given an injection at a clinic, her mother Amrit Kaur Loyal said .
“Gurkiren was fine, she was chatting to us and planned to buy some gifts for her cousins. While we were talking an assistant came up carrying a pre-filled syringe and reached for the tube in her hand. I asked what was the injection for, but he gave me a blank look and injected the liquid into her. Within a split-second Gurkiren’s head flipped back, her eyes rolled in her head, and the colour completely drained from her. I knew they had killed her on the spot. I knew my innocent child had been murdered,” the girl’s mother Ms Loyal, a shop assistant, told Birmingham Mail.
The paper reproduced what purported to be a copy of Gurkiren’s blood test done at “Mehra computerised laboratory,” located at Lalheri Road, Khanna. It says “Referred by Doctor Pardeep Moudgil.”
The British Foreign Office while confirming “the death of a British national in Punjab on April 2, 2013” declined to comment further beyond saying: “We provided consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”
The girl’s mother alleged that Gurkiren was subjected to a “medieval” post-mortem examination during which all her internal organs were removed to “hide” the truth behind her death.
“It was medieval,” she said claiming that the post-mortem was carried out by a non-qualified person.
The family discovered that her organs had been removed only when another post-mortem was done in Britain.
She said that a Birmingham coroner Aidan Cotter told the family that it was impossible to determine the cause of the death because “she had no organs in her body for them to take samples.”
“I was mortified that all the pleading in India had no effect. There was no sensitivity, no humanity.”
A spokesperson for the coroner said an inquest had been opened and adjourned as he awaited further information and, possibly, the return of organs from India.
The girl’s family said the local police and medical authorities did little to investigate the case.
Gurkiren, described by her classmates and teachers of Nishkam School as a “bright” and “bubbly” girl, had gone to India to see her frail grandmother, who later died. Besides her mother, she was accompanied by her father Santokh Singh Loyal,a postal worker, and brother Simran,
Narinder Kooner, a local councilor, and Shabana Mahmood MP called for British and Indian authorities to help the family get justice.
“It is imperative that we have the chance to independently establish the cause of death with the authorities in the UK,” said Ms. Mahmood.
Our Chandigarh correspondent adds:
Reacting to the allegations of the parents of a British Sikh schoolgirl that their daughter was killed by health workers in India in a failed attempt to harvest her organs, Punjab Minister for NRI Affairs Bikram Singh Majithia told The Hindu that the State government would order a probe after the family or a relative made a formal request.
Mr. Majithia said that though the matter was never brought to his notice, he would personally ensure that a transparent investigation was carried out to the satisfaction of the family of the deceased girl.
He said that if any law was violated, the guilty would not be spared.
Meanwhile, Khanna SSP S. Bhoopathi said that all legal formalities were completed and post-mortem was conducted. While the autopsy report was yet to reach the police, he said it was baseless to suggest that it was a case of organ harvesting.
He said the body of the girl, who died after falling sick, was handed over to the parents. She received treatment at a local clinic in Khanna.
