Congress MLA and former Minister Tanveer Sait, who was attacked by a disgruntled youth with a lethal weapon at a wedding ceremony in the late hours of Sunday, underwent a surgery at a private hospital in the city.
Mr. Sait was at Bal Bhavan in Bannimantap when the youth, identified as Farhaan Pasha (24) walked close to Mr. Sait, assaulted him with a knife and tried to escape. The incident was captured on video by the wedding photographers and shows the accused trying to escape from the spot after the assault.
A statement released on Monday by Columbia Asia Hospital, where Mr. Sait is undergoing treatment, said his condition continues to be critical.
“The ventilator was removed later in the evening [Monday] as he was responding well to treatment,” said sources in the hospital.
The bleeding MLA was rushed to the hospital where he underwent a surgery.
“He was attended to immediately and operated upon by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors. He had grievous injury to the blood vessels, nerves and surrounding internal organs in the neck. His bleeding is now under control and he is on a ventilator and drugs to maintain his blood pressure. He was transfused with blood products as he had heavy blood loss”, the statement added.
Damage to veins and nerves
Doctors said the attack had caused a deep wound on his neck, which had damaged the veins and nerves. A team of doctors that carried out surgery on Mr Sait soon after his admission to the hospital had managed to stop bleeding and sew up the damaged veins and nerves. But, more tests were necessary to ascertain if the attack had caused any injury to the spine or other organs, said Dr. Upendra Shenoy, Medical Superintendent of Columbia Asia Hospital.
Speaking to reporters, Dr. Shenoy said a team of doctors including neurosurgeon Dr. Maqsood and Head and Neck surgeon Dr. Dattatreya had operated upon Mr. Sait.
“A lot of blood loss had taken place. We have replaced it (blood)”, he said, adding that “Veins and nerves had been cut”.
To a question, Dr. Shenoy said, “All of them (nerves and veins) to go the brain from the heart. Right now, the condition is critical. Only after his condition stabilizes, we can put him on observation”.
However, Dr. Shenoy said Mr. Sait was responding well to the treatment. He will be in the ICU for another 24 to 48 hours. The MLA did not have any serious health issues, he said before adding that the doctors were keeping the blood pressure and diabetes under a check.
“We are doing our best and we hope and pray that he recovers soon”, Dr Shenoy said before asking the public not to visit the hospital. He said wife and children are with him.
Accused thrashed by people
The accused, who was caught on the spot by guests and Mr. Sait’s supporters, was thrashed and turned over to the police. Mr. Pasha, a resident of Udayagiri, is a handicraft artisan.
Commissioner of Police K.T. Balakrishna said the accused is being interrogated and the motive behind the attack was yet to be ascertained. However, sources said that Mr. Pasha was “disillusioned’’ as he had approached Mr. Sait a couple of times seeking a job and was disappointed over the delay.
The Narasimharaja Police who took the accused into custody booked a case under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and charged him with attempt to murder.
Security has been beefed up around the hospital where Mr. Sait’s supporters had gathered on receiving the news.
