Music therapy for Odisha's dalit rape victim

Bhubaneswar: With super specialist doctors treating the Dalit rape victim of Pipili in Odisha sceptical about her complete recovery due to part functioning of her brain, authorities at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack today decided to try music therapy for her cure.

"After consultations with Dr Bhabani Shankar Das, former director of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) and super specialists in AIIMS, Delhi, we have decided to take help of music therapy in order to bring the victim back to normalcy," hospital superintendent D N Maharana told PTI.

Claiming that the treatment given to the 19-year-old girl had been appreciated by experts from AIIMS, Delhi, the hospital superintendent said a senior doctor from the VSS Medical College Hospital in Burla, has been hired to start the music therapy.

As the girl, according to her parents, was fond of music while she was active, the 13-member super specialist team of the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack decided to try the therapy. "We hope the girl will respond to the new method of treatment," the superintendent said.

Among the choices made for the treatment of the girl, the hospital authorities have decided to play devotional songs dedicated to Lord Jagannath and Lord Shiv in slow pitch, they said, adding they were hopeful of the girl's recovery.

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"Besides, voices of her parents and close relatives will also be played to activate her brain cells which remained dormant for some days," he said.

Dr Das, who examined the girl on Thursday, found a slight improvement in her condition yesterday and hoped that music therapy could help further.

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"Although appropriate treatment is being provided to the girl at the hospital in Cuttack, she has remote chances of getting fully cured," Dr Das has stated.

Stating that the alleged rape and attempt to kill her took place about seven weeks ago, Dr Das has stated that the improvement shown by the patient till date is not satisfactory.

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Though she is opening her eyes a little, her limb movement has been nil. "This is due to lack of oxygen supply to her brain," he said.

The girl, hailing from Arjungada village under Pipili area in Puri district, was allegedly raped. The accused then tried to strangle her. As her brain cells were severely damaged in the incident, the girl slipped to coma on November 28, 2011. She, though, is now stated to be in a semi-comatose stage, the doctors said.