HIV-positive BSF soldier challenges dismissal in court

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HIV-positive Indian soldier challenges dismissal in court

NEW DELHI (AFP) Oct 26, 2003

An HIV-positive Indian soldier has launched a court challenge against

his dismissal by the army, a report said Sunday.

Bala Husein, 30, will have a court hearing in November seeking

reinstatement in the Border Security Force (BSF), a paramilitary

service stationed at India's frontiers and active in anti-insurgency

operations, The Hindu daily said.

Husein, who filed his case in 2000, said he wanted to set a precedent

for people in the armed forces with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS.

Husein, who now works as a security guard for a New Delhi-based

private firm, said he was told he could no longer serve in the BSF

after he disclosed he was carrying the virus.

" An inspector told me to leave my unit. He told me I was not fit to

work any longer as I will die soon, " Husein said in a television

interview.

S.K. Jha, director-general of the BSF's medical unit, said Husein was

dismissed not only due to his HIV but also because he was suffering

from tuberculosis and herpes.

Eighty-six BSF personnel have tested positive for HIV, according to

The Hindu.

In July, the government said that some 4.58 million Indians were

living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2002, a significant leap in the

figure of 3.97 million the previous year.

India has more HIV-positive people than any country except South

Africa.

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