13 persons get eye infection after cataract surgery in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada
Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Thirteen persons have been admitted to a hospital in Raipur after they contracted an eye infection following cataract surgery at a government medical facility in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, officials said on Monday.
This promoted the health department to order a probe into the matter following which three healthcare personnel, including the doctor who performed the cataract surgeries at the Dantewada district hospital, were suspended on Sunday.
The 13 patients from Dantewada were admitted to the Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital in state capital Raipur in the last five-six days and they are under treatment, the medical facility's public relations officer Shubhra Thakur said.
Their condition is stated to be stable as of now, she said.
All the 13 persons who got the eye infection underwent cataract surgery at the Dantewada district hospital between October 18 to 22, Dantewada Collector Mayank Chaturvedi told PTI.
"When one-two cases came to light, we launched an exercise to trace the patients who underwent surgeries at the hospital in the last 15-20 days to examine the condition of their operated eyes. We covered 80 patients, and 13 of them have so far been found to be suffering from infection in their operated eye," he said.
Despite learning on October 20 about the infection to a patient who was operated on October 18, the doctor concerned continued performing surgeries till October 22 and allegedly did not inform senior authorities about the case, the official said.
The Dantewada district hospital has four operation theatres and the target is to operate 20 cataract patients every week, he said.
"So far, we have examined patients operated between October 10 and October 22. We will continue the tracing exercise and examine the condition of patients operated before October 10," he said.
After the matter came to light, the health department constituted a team to investigate it.
The probe team found that standard protocols for cataract surgery were not properly followed and the operation theatre was not properly sanitised before the surgeries, an official said.
Prime facie, negligence was found on the part of the hospital's eye surgeon Dr Geeta Netam, eye assistant officer Dipti Toppo and staff nurse Mamta Vaide, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal told reporters on Sunday.
The three persons were placed under suspension with immediate effect on Sunday, he said.
The Dantewada district hospital superintendent has been issued a show notice, seeking his reply in this connection, he said.
Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel targeted the state government and in a post on 'X' said "again botched eye surgery incidents have started in the BJP government."
"The same thing happened during previous BJP rule. Such an incident did not happen even once in our government (referring to his party rule between 2018-2023). Vishnu's (Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai) good governance has been proved useless and unsuccessful," Baghel claimed.
The Congress has constituted a six-member team headed by its Bastar MLA Lakheshwar Baghel for a probe into the incident.
During the previous BJP governments headed by Raman Singh, there had been several cases of patients contracting eye infection after cataract surgeries.
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Aditya Birla Group-led consortium acquires RCB for USD 1.78 billion
Bengaluru (PTI): A consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) on Tuesday acquired 100 percent equity stake in IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a whopping USD 1.78 billion (approximately Rs 16,706 crore) from its current owner the United Spirits Limited.
Other parties involved in the group are -- Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE, a firm of which Viral Patel is the CEO, Bolt Ventures, owned by American investor David Blitzer, and media conglomerate Times of India.
“United Spirits Limited, pursuant to the meeting of its Board of Directors, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements for the sale of the 100 percent equity stake held in its wholly owned subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) to a consortium,” the USL said in a statement.
“The consortium comprises Aditya Birla Group (ABG), The Times of India Group (Times), Bolt Ventures (Bolt), and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE (Blackstone) for a total consideration of INR 166.6 bn in an all cash transaction,” the statement added.
The transaction includes RCB's men’s and women’s (WPL) teams.
“RCSPL owns and operates Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchises that participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL).
“Upon completion of this transaction, the consortium will, through its ownership of RCSPL, acquire the rights to own and operate the IPL and WPL franchise,” said the USL.
The announcement also concluded the strategic review of RCSPL that was initiated by USL on November 5, 2025.
The United Spirits Limited is a subsidiary of UK-Diageo, and they were keen to move away from RCB as the team was not central to their business plans.
Commenting on the transaction, Praveen Someshwar, MD & CEO, USL, said: “This transaction marks an important milestone for USL as we sharpen focus on our core beverage alcohol business to unlock its true potential. RCB has grown into the most prominent and commercially successful franchise in the IPL and WPL.
“We are excited for the future of RCB under the stewardship of the new owner. As Sports enters a new phase of growth in India & globally, we believe this is in the best interest of the franchise and our stakeholders.”
Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said, “Over the past 2 decades, the IPL has morphed to become a global sporting powerhouse that has changed the face of Indian cricket creating enormous value for India.
“RCB, as one of the most compelling franchises in modern sport, offers the Aditya Birla Group a distinctive platform to extend its legacy of institution-building into the arena of global sport.”
As per the sale agreement, Aryaman Vikram Birla, ABG’s director, will be the chairman of RCB while Satyan Gajwani of Times of India will be his deputy.
Aryaman Birla, said: “It is a privilege to come together in this partnership to shape the next phase of growth for RCB. This partnership brings together a deep understanding of sports, media and consumer businesses.
“Together, we will continue to Play Bold -- on the pitch, in the community, and for the fans who make RCB what it is.”
Gajwani, Chairman, Times Internet Limited, said: “RCB is the reigning champion and the most popular brand in the IPL. We will build RCB into a global sporting institution, while remaining rooted in Bengaluru and Karnataka and its incredible fanbase.”
Blitzer hoped to build on RCB’s recent success.
“RCB has a world-class fanbase, and the IPL is one of the great growth stories in global sport. Having invested in clubs and leagues around the world, I believe the opportunity at RCB stands out.
We look forward to working alongside our partners and the BCCI to build on the franchise’s championship success,” he said.
Patel praised the RCB as one of the strongest sporting brands in the world.
“We are excited to invest in RCB, building on Blackstone’s long-standing commitment to India. RCB stands out as one of the most popular sports franchises in the world with a powerful brand, a loyal fan base, and multiple avenues for growth,” he added.
However, formalities such as ratification from the BCCI, IPL Governing Council, its WPL counterpart and the Competition Commission of India are still pending.
Earlier, IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals was acquired by US-based Kal Somani-led consortium for USD 1.63 billion (approx Rs 15,290 crore),
The Somani-led consortium includes Rob Walton from the Walmart family and Hamp family (Ford motor company).
Somani is an Arizona-based tech entrepreneur who has founded IntraEdge (technology services and solutions), Truyo.Ai (data privacy rights and AI governance) and Academian (edtech services).
The other contenders to buy the team, which won the inaugural trophy in 2008, were the Times Internet-led consortium, the Aditya Birla Group and the Mittal family led by ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal.
