Girl fakes "weeping stone ailment"

New Delhi: Doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Tuesday said extensive medical tests on a teenaged girl, who claimed that she wept stones instead of tears, ruled out formation of stones in her eyes.

The doctors revealed that she had ''faked the ailment'' because of a psychological disorder.

''Clinically the patient is all right and all the tests conducted showed no evidence of any stone formation in her eyes or nose. We found out that she used to put the stones in her eyes,'' a professor at AIIMS Rajendra Prasad Centre of Ophthalmology, Dr J S Titiyal, said at a news conference.

Thirteen-year-old Savitri Kumari, a resident of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, had claimed that she started ''weeping stones'' about two years ago and has since undergone a surgery in Ranchi to ''correct the condition''.

Dr Titiyal said the conclusion was drawn after Savitri, a school dropout, underwent extensive ENT checkup, CT scans, x-rays, psychological assessment and chemical analysis of her tears and stones.

“There was no foreign particle in the patient's eyes. Some stones were found in her ears which were physically pushed in," he said.

The ophthalmologist said the analysis of her tears was that of a ''normal person''.

He said during her psychological analysis it was found out that the patient had the disorder.

''It is a common condition among teenagers. Children her age tend to do extraordinary things to attract attention. Her father wanted her to be educated and probably she could not deal with the pressure. Her IQ is 75, which is poor,'' he added.

During the observation period of five days Savitri, the sixth and youngest child of her parents, had two ''weeping episodes'' after which the stones were seen rolling down her face, the doctor said.

''Nobody saw the stones come out of her eyes. We then got suspicious and checked her luggage. We found a pack of small stones in it. The chemical analysis of stones she gave us also did not match. They were not formed in the eyes, she could have picked them up in her village,'' he said.

Dr Titiyal said Savitri will remain in the Institute for about a week during which she will attend counselling sessions.

Savitri's father Ganesh Ram, a mason, has claimed that stones would sometimes roll down even from her ears, nose and mouth.