Ranchi, January 21, 2026: Once again a disturbing case has emerged from Chaibasa District Hospital in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum, where a woman, her husband, and their three-year-old daughter have all tested HIV-positive following an alleged transfusion of infected blood during the woman’s first childbirth in January 2023.
According to the victim’s family, the woman underwent a cesarean section at Chaibasa Sadar Hospital in January 2023. Due to excessive bleeding during delivery, she was administered a blood transfusion from the hospital’s blood bank. The family has alleged that she contracted HIV through the infected blood transfused at that time.
The infection came to light when the woman became pregnant for the second time in June 2025. During a routine antenatal check-up, she tested HIV-positive. Subsequent testing revealed that her husband had also tested positive. She gave birth to her second child on January 2, 2026.
Around the same time, the couple’s elder child fell seriously ill and was also found to be HIV-positive during a blood examination.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Marandi pointed out that this is the same hospital that made headlines last year after children undergoing treatment for thalassemia reportedly contracted HIV following infected blood transfusions.
“This issue points towards a larger conspiracy,” Marandi stated, criticising Chief Minister Hemant Soren for signing agreements with private hospitals in Davos, Switzerland, while state-run government hospitals continue to function poorly. “The whole world is watching all this,” he added.
Chaibasa Civil Surgeon Dr. BG Minz urged caution against drawing conclusions based solely on allegations. “It would not be appropriate to hold the blood bank responsible at this stage,” she said.
Speaking to The Times of India, Dr. Minz stated, “The administration is trying to ascertain how the woman contracted HIV. There is no government record related to her prenatal check-ups. The HIV tests of the second child will be conducted in the coming months. No formal complaint has been lodged in this regard. I came to know about the matter through reports in some vernacular newspapers. The couple and their first child are, however, HIV-positive, and their treatment has been initiated.”
(Rh/VK)