Mumbai cops raise Rs 30 lakh for colleague battling mucormycosis

Bhaidas Mali is now in stable condition after undergoing surgery for mucormycosis

Police sub-inspector Bhaidas Mali's family was left in a daze after doctors told him he had contracted mucormycosis and his treatment would cost about Rs 40 lakh. They could not hold back their tears when over 700 batchmates of Mali put up a spirited campaign to raise Rs 30 lakh in just two days. Mali is in stable condition now.

Mali belongs to the proud Batch 113 of 20015-2016. Originally from Dhule, he is posted at Kingaon in Buldhana district. His colleagues said he caught Covid-19 twice and recovered, but his family were concerned after pus started coming from his nose and mouth.

Also Read: Maharashtra: Mucormycosis treatment to be covered under govt insurance schemes

Mali went to a local doctor before being admitted to a Pune hospital where he underwent surgery. However, since there was no improvement in his condition, he was brought to Global Hospital in Mumbai for a nose and mouth operation. His family went numb after learning that the treatment would cost between Rs 35 lakh and Rs 40 lakh. Sources said Mali's family had almost resigned to their fate until his batchmates emerged as saviours.

Sub-inspector Vijay Gite, who is posted at Amravati, said all those who were a part of Batch 113 are connected over WhatsApp and they learnt about Mali's condition through their group. "Our batchmates immediately chipped in. Since it was not enough, we took to social media to raise funds. All the officers of our batch also made appeals through WhatsApp and that worked," said Gite.

The collective efforts paid up and the cops turned the table on black fungus by raising Rs 30 lakh in 48 hours. PSI Anjali Vani of the same batch said there were 730 people in Batch 113. She said, "All batchmates helped and each of our batch officers contributed up to Rs 2 lakh."

730
No. of members in batch 113