Before the surgical procedure, each of the women was given an anti-biotic called ciprocin. When analyzed later, they were found to contain zinc phosphide, which is a common ingredient used in rat poison.
The company that made the pills was nearby, called Mahawar Pharmaceuticals. After confiscating more than 200,000 of the pills, and 4 million other ones, they are currently being analyzed.
Other women came in to hospitals complaining of symptoms that indicate poisoning by zinc phosphide. The director of the drug company and his son, have been arrested.
India has been promoting sterilization as an effective means to population control. It has seen some success, but birth rates are still among the highest in the world.
Comment: Hopefully this was an accident of some kind. Unfortunately, rat poison was found at the manufacturer's site.
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Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-rat-poison-india-sterilization-20141114-story.html
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Photo Credit: Unchanged; from https://www.flickr.com/photos/genista/1346477813
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Keywords: India, sterilization, deaths, rat poison, Mahawar Pharmaceuticals