Athlete Pinki’s blood sample taken for chromosomal test

Kolkata  :  Blood samples of Asiad gold medallist runner Pinki Pramanik for a chromosomal test to determine the athlete’s gender were Monday collected at the city’s SSKM Hospital.

The athlete has been accused of being a male, and is currently under judicial custody for alleged rape.

“As per the court’s order we collected the blood samples of Pramanik for conducting Karyotyping – a chromosomal test – to determine the athlete’s gender. Since we don’t conduct the test here, the samples will be sent to an undisclosed location for the medical examination,” SSKM superintendent T.K.Ghosh told IANS.

“The result of the test will be known in 7 to 10 days,” Ghosh said.

Ghosh also rubbished claims by the athlete that she was being subjected to mental and physical harassment by the hospital authorities.

“It is totally wrong to say that Pramanik has been subjected to any harassment. We are doing what the court has asked us to do,” added Ghosh.

The athlete has twice undergone gender determination tests in two different government hospitals but on both the occasions the tests were inconclusive.

“In the name of gender test, Pinki is being taken from one hospital to another, which has been causing her mental trauma and physical harassment,” Pramanik’s counsel Tuhin Roy said.

An 11-member medical board consisting of doctors from the government-run SSKM Hospital was constituted and conducted several tests on Pinki June 25. However, due to the lack of facilities, Karyotyping could not be carried out.

The athlete’s June 19 test at another government hospital in North 24 Parganas also was inconclusive, following which the athlete was referred to the SSKM.

Pramanik was arrested June 14 and remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody by a court June 15 after the athlete’s live-in partner, a divorcee and a mother of one, filed a police complaint accusing the athlete of being a male who repeatedly “raped and tortured” her.

Subsequent to the arrest, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical check-up where the test reports claimed that the former top notch athlete was indeed a male.

Pramanik, however, claimed innocence and said it was a conspiracy.

Pramanik, who retired from athletics three years ago, won gold in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in Qatar. The runner was a silver medallist at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the same year.

The Eastern Railway, with which the athlete is a ticket collector, suspended Pramanik June 16 following her remand in judicial custody.