Indrani Mukerjea should count herself lucky to be alive, says doctor

Indrani Mukerjea was admitted to JJ hospital for five days after overdosing on drugs PicsSameer MarkandeIndrani Mukerjea didnt just consume an alarming amount of benzodiazepine 32 times more than the toxic cutoff level but several other narcotic and psychotropic substances were also found in her urine A report by the Hinduja hospital laboratory dated April 7 indicates that apart from the antianxiety drug benzodiazepine Indranis urine also had traces of amphetamines cocaine methadone opiates phencyclidine PCP and tetrahydrocannabinoids THCIndrani was discharged from JJ hospital on WednesdayOn the other hand the state laboratorys report has stated that there were no drugs in Indranis system whatsoever We are aware of the other narcotic levels in the urine but they were much less than the cutoff levels so we were not bothered about it Our concern was her benzodiazepine level which was very high said a doctor from JJ hospitalHer pupils had become very small which is a classic sign of benzodiazepine poisoning Our diagnosis and line of treatment was accurate We removed all the toxins from her body through forced intravenous fluid alkaline diuresis the doctor addedIndrani who is currently lodged in Byculla jail for the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora was rushed to JJ on Friday night in an unconscious state The toxic screen conducted by Hinduja found 6468 ngml benzodiazepine in Indranis urine This is 3134 per cent or 32 times over the cutoff level when the drug becomes toxic to the bodyDr Sudhir Nanandkar dean of Grant Medical College and JJ hospital said The Hinduja report has confirmed our diagnosis and line of treatment We now know that high level of benzodiazepine was responsible for her falling unconscious on Friday Doctors added that they chose to take urine samples over a blood test as benzodiazepine lasts four times as long in urine one tablet can last as long as four days in urineCould have been fatalDr Sanjay Kumavat a psychiatrist and former deputy director Mental Health at the Directorate of Health Services said Indrani should consider herself lucky that the doctors saved her with the correct diagnosis and immediate treatment Any delay could have been fatalHe added The fact that traces of narcotic and psychotropic drugs have been found in the urine sample tested by Hinduja indicates that she might be using these drugs It is impossible for traces of narcotics to be found if she had only consumed benzodiazepines a class of drugs used for treating anxiety and withdrawal symptoms Dr Kumavat further stated that it was possible that Indrani had consumed the narcotics before Fridays episode as the drug levels were much lowerFSL comes up blankThis is the second time Indrani has tested positive for benzodiazepine However just like last time October 2015 the State Forensic Science Laboratory FSL has stated that her samples were negative for any drugs including benzodiazepine To this doctors from JJ said We must understand that Hinduja has nothing personal against Indrani We were keen to have proper diagnosis and hence sent a sample to Hinduja We havent got FSL Kalinas urine reportDr Kumavat added The findings of Hinduja laboratory will be more accurate as they have a wellequipped and accredited laboratory and they received the sample the very next day The State FSL report might be negative as they might have got the samples late or got a wrong sample Or else they should have at least found traces of benzodiazepines in her urineDr Shashikumar Menon a pharmacologist from the department of Pharma Analytical Sciences at Ruia College said The origin of all these narcotics is from different sources that were consumed together The fact that the benzodiazepine level was on the higher side might be a result of additional dosage that she might have taken along with other narcotic substancesByculla jail officials have already clarified that medicines prescribed toIndrani Mukerjea by jail doctors are given strictly under supervision The overdose has now raised questions that can only be answered by a proper investigation into the events that took place after Indrani left the prison for her court hearing on FridayFSL saysThe State FSLs tests came up negative on the urine sample 4ml and gastric lavage 5ml collected on Monday afternoon A highly placed source confirmed We have submitted our report to the Nagpada police and JJ hospital Our test findings have not shown any traces for drug overdose including benzodiazepineWhile the Hinduja report states that they used the EMIT SemiQuantitative method for the urine toxic screening FSL sources say that they carried out the tests on HighPerformance Thin Layer Chromatography HPTLC and Headspace Gas Chromatography When asked if the negative result might be due to delay or if a wrong sample was sent the source said We have tested the sample sent to us We have no clue if the sample was right or wrong Also even if the sample was sent late we still could have found traces of benzodiazepine or any other drug6468 Amount of Benzodiazepine in ngml found in Indranis urineAlso readLife threat claim Police begins probe yet to record Indrani Mukerjeas statementCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates