Jeetu Sharma, an acid attack survivor who worked with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone in movie Chhapaak, has been struggling to get her father treated for cancer amidst the coronavirus lockdown. According to the reports, Jeetu Sharma, who lives in Aligarh’s Baraula Jafrabad, is fighting to get her father treated, who is suffering from throat cancer.
Jeetu Sharma was attacked with acid in 2014, when she was just 17 years old, by a 55-year-old man who had been stalking her. Last year, Sharma had performed the role in Deepika Padukone’s “Chhappak”, a movie made on the life and struggles of acid attack survivors.
Unable to visit hospital due to lockdown
Jeetu Sharma’s father, Somdutt Sharma, 55, is a head constable with Uttar Pradesh Police currently, posted at Mainpuri district in the western part of the state. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in January and was receiving treatment at a private hospital in Noida.
Speaking to the media, Sharma said that her father was not even able to drink water as his condition has deteriorated in the last five days.
She added, “He was under treatment for throat cancer at a private hospital in Noida since January. However, we are unable to take him there now due to the lockdown. Even AMU’s medical college is not ready to admit him as they are not taking any new patient.”
According to the family, her father’s last chemo session was done in March and the next one was due on March 26. However, it was extended after the lockdown was announced, she said.
“I contacted the district administration and police but received no help. They advised me to hire a taxi and go to Noida on my own,” she said. She had also posted her plight on the social media tagging UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Aligarh DM.
हमने अपने पिता की जान बचाने के लिये घर ही को बनाया हॉस्पिटल अलीगढ मेडिकल मे साफ माना कर दिया कैंसर के न्यू पेसन्ट को डॉ नहीं देख रहे है मेरे पिता जी की हालत बहुत गंभीर है @myogiadityanath @PMOIndia @yadavakhilesh @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/aaha9Xb6W3
— Jeetu Sharma (@JeetuSh17837548) April 23, 2020
Auhtorities come to rescue of Jeetu Sharma
Meanwhile, in response to Jeetu Sharma’s Twitter post, Chandra Bhushan Singh, the District Magistrate of UP’s Aligarh, posted, “The daughter of a cancer patient has been informed to submit an application before Aligarh city magistrate. She will be given permission to take her father to another city for treatment”.
The UP government has also said that there is an e-pass system for those forced to travel during lockdown because of medical emergencies.
Chhapaak and the controversial PR stunt
Chhapaak is a movie based on the real-life story of Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor whose character is played by Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone. However, despite being such a sensitive issue with profound social importance, the movie failed miserably in dazzling the viewers, leaving them with a feeling of betrayal, which was reflected in the negative reviews and poor box office collections.
Deepika Padukone had tried to pull off a PR stunt by doing a cameo in JNU controversy to express her ‘solidarity’ with students who had unleashed violence inside JNU in February, inviting severe criticism against the Bollywood entertainer for standing with anti-India elements.
