Fatehabad Cyber Cell constable Rajesh’s eight-month-old son is battling Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type-1 (SMA), and police across six districts are helping raise funds for his treatment.
Rare Genetic Disorder
Yuvansh, born on April 9, 2024, is suffering from one of the rarest and most severe forms of genetic disorders that affect infants. By the time he was two months old, his parents noticed that he wasn’t showing typical signs of physical development.
After consulting multiple doctors and undergoing several tests, he was finally diagnosed with SMA on May 18, 2025.
Doctors at PGI Chandigarh reviewed his case and advised the urgent administration of Zolgensma, a gene therapy injection considered one of the most expensive in the world. In this case, it must be procured from Switzerland and costs around ₹14.5 crore.
Doctors have emphasised that the injection must be administered before Yuvansh turns two to ensure the best possible outcome. It is believed that children with this condition have the best chance at a quality life if they receive gene therapy within the first two years. Without it, children often do not survive and may die due to respiratory failure, choking, or pneumonia.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is an inherited genetic disorder passed down from parents. It involves the loss of nerve cells in the spinal cord that are responsible for muscle movement. Without these cells, muscles do not receive the necessary signals to function. The main symptom is progressive muscle weakness, meaning it worsens over time.
Campaign
To support the family, the police department has launched a campaign across six districts. The Director General of Police, Puran Kumar, has urged officers in Rohtak, Charkhi Dadri, and Bhiwani to donate a day’s salary. Similar appeals have been made by the Superintendents of Police in Kaithal and Sirsa.
Constable Rajesh’s wife Kiran, Yuvansh’s mother, works as a clerk in the Food Supply Department, where employees have also joined the fundraising efforts. So far, around ₹38 lakh has been raised through social media donations and awareness campaigns.
Adampur MLA Chandra Prakash has written to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini seeking financial help, while Rajesh has personally appealed to ADGP KK Rao in Hisar.
In a desperate effort to collect the funds, Rajesh has also reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Nayab Saini, actors Salman Khan and Sonu Sood, MP Naveen Jindal, industrialist Gautam Adani, and other institutions, including the Union Health Ministry.
Similar Cases
This isn’t the first time funds have been raised for SMA Type-1 treatment. In a similar case, 16-month-old Ashmita Das from Kolkata became the first child in eastern India to receive Zolgensma—the same gene therapy—through public donations and support from an NGO. The ₹16 crore injection was imported from California.
Why It Matters
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type-1 is a rare but life-threatening condition that requires urgent and costly treatment. With gene therapy like Zolgensma often out of financial reach for most families, stories like Yuvansh’s highlight the need for early diagnosis, greater public awareness, and accessible fundraising channels for children battling such conditions.
(Input From Various Sources)
(Rehash/Pooja Bansal/MSM)